Nick Scalera, CEO and Founder, NJ Cannabis Consulting.
For more than 20 years, Nick held management positions with high-tech New Jersey companies including AT&T, Perkin Elmer, Telcordia Technologies, and Ericsson. He also taught business, technical, and math courses at several NJ colleges and universities. From 2001 until 2018, his consultancy, NJS Marketing Services, helped businesses across a wide range of industries develop and implement strategies to achieve their growth objectives.
In 2018, Nick established NJ Cannabis Consulting to help people “plan, build and successfully operate cannabis businesses” by:
- Developing cannabis business plans, pro formas and pitch decks to support cannabis license applications and funding needs.
- Performing the research and analysis required to develop and execute effective marketing campaigns for cannabis and ancillary businesses.
- Operating The Cannabis Referral Network (thecannabisreferralnetwork.
com) to assist providers of products and services for the cannabis industry. -
Operating The Cannabis Learning Center (thecannabislearningcenter.com
) a free online platform for sharing cannabis-related educational information across 70+ different topic areas.
*NOTE: Mr. Scalera is not an advocate (pro or con) for the legalization of cannabis.
Dave Pepe, Cannabis Business Consultant
Dave Pepe is an experienced executive with expertise in strategic global market and business development, leadership, and operations planning & execution. Dave has 20+ years of expertise in global business/market development and has held business and operational management positions at Ericsson, Avaya, T-Mobile, and Tata Communications.
Dave holds a B.S.E.E. in microprocessor and system design, and further graduate studies in Finance and Marketing.
Most recently, Dave was Sr. Director, Global Business Development Operations of Mobility Solution. As Head of Tata’s Global Mobile Operations, he was responsible for the global planning/execution, capital investments, business process improvement, and pricing/offer management governance. Routinely engaged with internal and F500 Board of Directors for funding/investment and operational execution.
Matthew Gunsberg, Consultant, Master Grower
Mathew Gunsberg has been a Owner/Operator for 30+ years. He has managed all aspects of the cultivation process including propagation, planting, irrigation, nutrient management, pest management, pruning, harvesting and drying/bucking/trimming. He has also monitored production schedules to maximize efficiency while ensuring deadlines were met. He analyzed market trends and competitor strategies to develop new products and services while maintaining accurate records of delivery confirmations and invoices.
His expertise includes the ability to quickly analyze factors that impact yield such as, nutrient management, light intensity, pruning techniques, and pest problems. Swiftly and effectively devise a plan for improvement of these issues, along with powdery mildew eradication and all integrated pest management concerns. He is knowledgeable in building grow sites; including the watering systems, lighting and environmental controls. He has years of experience in the field in all stages of cultivation; from cuttings to full term, harvesting, curing and proper storage.
Brett Sprau, Cannabis Operations Consulting
Brett Sprau is an East Coast native who has been a leader in the cannabis space since 2014. After graduating law school Brett headed out to Colorado where he established one of the first adult use cultivation companies in the country, Colorado Leaf. As the founder and COO of Colorado Leaf, Brett focused his energy on the businesses operational efficiency by re-designing and retrofitting the standard greenhouse model to be optimized for cannabis growing. Brett also focused his aptitude for operational efficiency by becoming one of the first commercial growers to utilize full spectrum LEDs as supplemental grow lighting, as well as triple layer light deprivation systems to help reduce overall production costs. Brett led the team at Colorado Leaf for a couple of years and was featured in multiple magazine articles in Marijuana Venture Magazine and Cannabis Business Times for his work in cannabis cultivation.
After a successful exit of the Colorado market, Brett made his way back to his home state of Pennsylvania where he began consulting for the newly established East Coast market. Utilizing his law degree, Brett worked with multiple start-ups across the country to help them complete their applications and receive their licenses. Additionally, while consulting, Brett worked on designing multiple facilities, always with an eye on efficiency. Then in 2017 Brett joined up with some of his clients to form Just Healthy, LLC out of Massachusetts.
While at Just Healthy Brett applied his start up experience to help them receive a vertical medical license package and three adult use licenses in the state of Massachusetts. After receiving the licenses, and finding land for a cultivation and retail location, Brett went on to successfully negotiate the merger and acquisition of Just Healthy by Green Growth Brands, who was a publicly traded cannabis company on the Canadian market with a focus on large scale greenhouses.
While working for Green Growth Brands Brett guided the East Coast direction as the VP of Operations and Northeast expansion. Brett’s time and energy were focused on working with the design team to create a state-of-the-art facility and then working with the legal team to receive zoning approval for an almost 300,000 s/f cultivation, production, and corporate facility in Western, MA. After leaving Green Growth Brands, Brett went on to continue working in Massachusetts for a West Coast based multi-state operator called The Source Holdings, as their Director of Business Operations. While working at the Source, Brett was exposed to seasoned retail and business executive leaders from the clothing industry who would help Brett take the Source’s new East Coast expansion from a retail conception to an open dispensary within a year.
Brett worked as the head of all Massachusetts operations for the Source for a couple of years until the Source exited the East Coast market to focus on their West Coast operations. After leaving the Source, Brett once again headed back to his home state where he’s been ever since. Now back in PA Brett is working with the New Jersey based start-up, Jersey Island Wellness to help them design and implement a ground up build of a cultivation, production, and corporate office facility.
When not working, Brett likes to spend time with his three daughters, wife, and two boxers hiking, playing sports, and cooking. Brett has a passion for cars, cannabis, and American traditional tattoo art. Brett received his Juris Doctorate degree from Wiedner University School of Law with a focus on Business Operations, and his B.S. in Business Marketing and Management from Pennsylvania State University where he was Vice President of the Business Club his Junior and Senior years.
Alecia Lamplugh, Director of the Cannabis Referral Network
With over 20 years of workforce experience, Alecia combines deep industry expertise with an empathetic, client-first approach. Her background spans student leadership, cannabis logistics, and vault management, giving her a grounded, operational perspective on the industry’s moving parts.
Currently studying public relations, business perspectives, and cannabis commercialization at Rowan University, Alecia also leverages her sociology research to understand human dynamics-making intuition her ultimate flex—allowing her to form expert connections for clients and partners in the field. Fueled by a passion for small business, business theory, and industrial organization, she is actively scaling her expertise in this new role as director of The Cannabis Referral Network.
