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Mr. Ahrens is a Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of AdvisorShares. He is the portfolio manager of the Pure US Cannabis ETF (ticker: MSOS) – the first ETF to offer US-exclusive cannabis exposure – the Pure Cannabis ETF (ticker: YOLO), and the Vice ETF (ticker: VICE). He carries over two decades of experience in the financial services industry serving in a variety of senior-level capacities and is the author of Investing in Cannabis (Wiley, 2020) and Investing in Vice (St. Martin’s Press, 2004). Additionally, Mr. Ahrens has appeared on numerous financial programs including CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, ABC News and Bloomberg and has been featured, along with funds under his management in major national and trade publications including The Economist, the New York Times, Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Mina leads the Investment Team at Merida Capital Holdings, a private equity firm targeting fundamental growth drivers underpinning the rapid development of the cannabis industry. In his role, Mina is responsible for deal sourcing, due diligence, portfolio analysis and management and sits on the firm’s Investment Committee. Mina also represents Merida in its capacity as a sub-advisor for rePlant Hemp Impact Fund I, which is focused on investing in hemp-based technologies to decarbonize the global economy. He serves on the board of several portfolio companies, including Henry’s Original, Canadian Rockies Hemp Corporation, Cellibre, Phylos Bioscience, and Pantry Food Co. Prior to joining Merida, he co-founded and served as CFO of Philagrow, a Pennsylvania-based phytopharmaceutical company. Mina spent the bulk of his career doing Investment Banking advisory work, most recently at Deutsche Bank from 2006 to 2017, where he led the North American structured finance derivatives business. Mina obtained a B.S. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a Finance concentration. He is a CFA® Charterholder and a CPA (inactive).

Chris has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MJ REIT since its inception. He co-founded AC Capital Partners LLC, a national sponsor of alternative investments, and has over 27 years of experience in the asset management space. Prior to founding AC Capital Partners and MJ REIT, he served as managing director with Arcview Capital, where he focused his efforts on developing relationships with independent broker-dealers, regional firms, and wires. Before joining Arcview Capital, he spent nine years at FS Investments, where he ran a team of portfolio specialists and assisted in the successful launch of several alternative investment strategies. Mr. Reece received his MBA from Villanova University and his BS in Finance from Drexel University. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Mara Sheldon is a member of the firm’s Strategic Advocacy Public Policy Practice, where she represents states, municipalities, private sector companies and nonprofits on a variety of legislative and regulatory matters related to renewable energy, environment and natural resources, healthcare, cannabis and hemp, tourism and hospitality, and banking and financial services issues. With deep expertise working with federal, state and local governments, her work during the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly instrumental in assisting clients navigate state and federal guidance and overcome funding issues. With more than 20 years of experience working at the intersection of public policy and strategic communications, Mara has represented major corporations, nonprofits and elected officials. At age 21, she served as one of the youngest Press Secretaries on Capitol Hill and ultimately became Communications Director to several members of Congress, including former Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, John D. Dingell, and current Chairwoman of the House Committee on Small Business, Nydia Velazquez. Throughout her time on Capitol Hill, Mara worked on several marquee pieces of legislation, including healthcare, environment and water, and banking and financial services.

Patrick is a strategic chief financial officer and business partner with experience spanning global, publicly traded companies and private equity-owned enterprises across the consumer goods, logistics, education, retail, technology, and manufacturing industries. He has been a key member of the executive team leading financial and operational turnarounds, managing major acquisitions, divestitures, and recapitalizations, and implementing cost-saving initiatives and process improvements. Since 2020, as Chief Financial Officer of PharmaCann Inc., one of the nation’s largest privately held and vertically integrated cannabis companies, he has raised $525 million in capital, led the identification, negotiation, and due diligence for ten acquisitions – including the transformational merger with LivWell – and supported a three-fold expansion in revenue. Patrick graduated summa cum laude from Loyola University Chicago with a Bachelor of Business Administration and is a Certified Public Accountant.

At KEY Investment Partners, Jordan is responsible for developing due diligence strategy, leading co-investment syndication processes, writing blog posts and driving proactive outreach for deal sourcing opportunities. Jordan led KEY Investment Partners’ investments in Springbig, HERBL, XS Financial, LivWell, TRP & LeafLink. Prior to founding KEY, Jordan spent four years as a member of Partners Group’s Private Equity team responsible for sourcing investment opportunities, conducting due diligence, and executing lead, control leveraged buyout transactions for companies between $500 million and $2.5 billion in enterprise value.Prior to Partners Group, Jordan spent four years with GE Capital predominantly in Leveraged Finance, underwriting debt facilities for business services companies in lower-middle market buyout transactions. Jordan was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH and attended Indiana University as a Wells Scholar, majoring in Economics & Political Science. In his free time, Jordan enjoys traveling, skiing, reading & hiking.