Speakers

Benton Bodamer (JD ’06), Dickinson Wright PLLC, Adjunct professor at Moritz College of Law

Benton Bodamer is a Member of Dickinson Wright PLLC.  He has represented a wide range of public and private companies, as well as many of the leading international private equity sponsors.

He regularly advises clients on complex domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, minority investments, divestitures, and restructurings.  Mr. Bodamer also routinely counsels privately held businesses (including sponsor portfolio companies) on general corporate matters, governance, corporate best practices, and commercial transactions.

Prior to joining Dickinson Wright, Mr. Bodamer practiced for over a decade with international law firms Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Goodwin Procter LLP. Cat Packer is the Executive Director and General Manager of the Department of Cannabis Regulation.


Eliott Frank (JD ’96), Partner, Sadis & Goldberg LLP

Eliott Frank is a Partner at Sadis & Goldberg LLP and a member of the Regulatory and Compliance Group. Mr. Frank’s practice focuses on day-to-day and strategic legal & compliance matters relevant to hedge funds and asset managers, including regulatory initiatives, current and planned fund/product offerings, securities & investment matters and marketing activities. He also advises on investment funds and cannabis matters.

Mr. Frank has extensive experience with U.S. and global securities and regulatory matters related to asset management clients. He also advises clients on the implementation, management and enforcement of internal compliance programs. Mr. Frank has experience advising clients on a broad range of business-related matters, including drafting and negotiating contracts and agreements ranging from investor side letters and co-invest agreements to technology agreements and licenses. He also works closely with clients with respect to investor documents, fund formation documents, marketing materials, due diligence documentation and other legal/compliance needs.


Kelli Hykes (MA ’11), Director of Government Relations, Weedmaps

Kelli Hykes came to serve as Director, Government Relations for Weedmaps with an extensive background in public health and local government. Weedmaps is the oldest and largest tech company that services the cannabis industry, and Kelli leads lobbying and public policy efforts across the US and Canada. She holds a BA in Political Science and Communication Studies from The University of Alabama and a MA in Public Policy and Management from The Ohio State University. After working in government relations for nonprofit organizations, Kelli spent over 10 years in service to The City of Columbus (Ohio) advising the City Council, staffing committees, including Health and Technology, drafting legislation, and researching best practices. Kelli also held the inaugural role of Director of Public Health Policy for Columbus Public Health, where she was responsible for representing the department and larger health interests to local, state, and federal leaders. She has drafted legislation that has been adopted in multiple states and at the federal level, both in the United States and Canada. She brings this unique background to work with legislators and stakeholders to develop responsible cannabis policies proven to reduce youth access and the illegal market. 


Cat Packer (BA ’12, MA & JD ’15), Executive Director and General Manager of the Department of Cannabis Regulation, City of Los Angeles

Cat Packer is the Executive Director and General Manager of the Department of Cannabis Regulation.

Prior to joining the City of Los Angeles, Packer served as California Policy Coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance, where she worked to ensure the successful and equitable implementation of various cannabis policy reforms.

Packer is an alumna of The Ohio State University where she received a Bachelor’s in Political Science, a Master’s in Public Policy & Management and a Juris Doctor.


Tahira Rehmatullah (BA ’05), Managing Director of Hypur Ventures

Tahira Rehmatullah is Managing Director of Hypur Ventures, Partner of Big Tent Ventures and Ceylon Solutions, and member of the board of directors for Akerna Corp. From brand building to hedge funds, Tahira has previously held positions at Marley Natural, Privateer Holdings, City First Enterprises, Perry Capital, and Ernst & Young. She is an investor and advisor to numerous cannabis businesses and entrepreneurs, including the advisory board of The Initiative, and is dedicated to developing female and minority leadership in the industry.

Tahira earned her MBA from the Yale School of Management and B.S. in Finance from The Ohio State University. She resides in New York City.


Daniel Riffle (BA ’03),
Senior Counsel and Policy Advisor to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Dan Riffle is the Senior Counsel and Policy Adviser to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Before joining her office, he served as an adviser to two other members of Congress. Prior to his work on Capitol Hill, he was the Director of Government Relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, the organization responsible for drafting and passing Colorado’s historic marijuana legalization initiative in 2012. Riffle oversaw passage of an amendment in Congress to prevent the Department of Justice from enforcing marijuana laws in states where it’s legal. He also drafted and shepherded marijuana reform legislation through state legislatures in Maryland, Illinois and Vermont. He is originally from Columbus, graduated from Ohio State and Capital Law, and served briefly as an assistant prosecutor in Vinton County. 


Rob Sims (BA ’06), former NFL player and Ohio State Offensive Guard, Founder of Primitive Cannabis and Founding Partner in Locker Room Consulting

Rob Sims enjoyed a successful career as an offensive linemen in the NFL, plying his trade with the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions over the course of nine years in the league. Prior to turning pro, Rob was an accomplished collegiate athlete: a three-year starter for the Ohio State Buckeyes, he captained the team during his senior season at OSU.

Rob and his wife Natalie have long been recognized for their philanthropic contributions and service to local and national charities including the Detroit Police Athletic League, the Yatooma Foundation, the Children’s Center, and the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

As an ex-professional athlete turned entrepreneur, Rob has diligently pursued his passion for business. Locker Room Consulting provides a platform for Rob to share his expertise in the real estate industry while continuing his philanthropic endeavors and serving as a valued mentor to his peers.


Patricia Zettler, Professor, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University

Patricia J. Zettler is a public health law scholar whose research focuses on the regulation of medicine, drugs and other medical products, and tobacco products, with an emphasis on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Professor Zettler’s scholarship has appeared in leading legal, interdisciplinary, and medical journals. She also writes about FDA-related issues at Objective Intent, the FDA law and policy blog that she co-founded, as well as at Stanford’s Law and the Biosciences Blog.

Professor Zettler has advised various groups and organizations on FDA law and policy. Among other things, she served as a consultant to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Pain Management and Regulatory Strategies to Address Prescription Opioid Abuse from 2016 to 2017, and has served on the editorial advisory board for the Food and Drug Law Journal since 2015.

Before joining the Ohio State faculty in 2019, Professor Zettler was a faculty member of the Center for Law, Health & Society at Georgia State University College of Law and, before that, she was a fellow at the Center for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford Law School. In addition to Professor Zettler’s academic work, she served as an associate chief counsel in the FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel. Professor Zettler also has bioethics experience through work at the Program in Medical Ethics at the University of California San Francisco and at the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health.