Please Join IWC on June 9, 2022, from 5-7 PM CST for a presentation by Dentons Attorney Joanne Caceres where she will discuss some steps current new licensees should consider — now that licenses are on the verge of being awarded — as they rev up the race towards becoming operational. Joanne will discuss the importance of reviewing your application, corporate and legal considerations, strategic partnerships, and guidelines for keeping open and effective communications with the Illinois regulators. Following the presentation, Joanne will also answer questions from the audience.

Also, Chris Atkinson of Redmond Construction will offer best practices to execute speed to market in building a compliant cultivation or dispensary facility. And, Jack Bilanzic from World Business Chicago will provide a brief overview of commercial properties including details on zoning, resources available through World Business Chicago, and best practices new licenses should consider when approaching real estate decisions. QA will follow

Speaker Bios

Joanne Caceres

Joanne counsels clients in the cannabis industry to attain their business objectives while voiding legal risks in this rapidly evolving regulatory environment. This includes advocating full-time for clients in or impacted by, the state-legal cannabis industries and tensions with federal law. Current clients include large publicly traded companies selling products or services in the cannabis industry, companies involved in financing the industry, vaporizer manufacturers, and a company operating dispensaries in several states.

Chris Atkinson

As Project Executive for Redmond’s Cannabis Group, Chris leads the firm’s growing portfolio of cannabis dispensary and cultivation projects. Chris brings deep expertise in cannabis operations, facility construction, and stakeholder management. To date, she has built out nearly 300,000 SF of retail and cultivation facilities across the country, including 21 dispensaries and four cultivation facilities.

Chris has experience working with local municipalities, state regulatory bodies, REITs, zoning, and code variances. In addition to her stellar reputation managing highly complex, fast-paced builds, Chris works closely with Redmond’s leadership team to ensure social equity is a priority of the firm’s Cannabis Group.

Jack Bilanzic

Jack Bilanzic is a Business Development Manager for World Business Chicago where he focuses on Site Selection. Jack specializes in working with companies to learn about their real estate needs and assist in securing their site of operations in Chicago. Specifically, Jack is well versed in navigating the Chicago market for license holders.

World Business Chicago is the city of Chicago’s public-private economic development agency with a mission to drive inclusive economic development and job creation, support businesses, promote Chicago as a leading global city, assist existing local companies with expansion, and help new market entrants connect, assimilate and get positioned for success.