Unity and Collaboration are key drivers that power Friends of Hemp. Our partners and associates come from locations across the globe. A shared planet that needs our help to mitigate climate change, in part with hemp. Friends of Hemp recognizes the challenges, needs, and opportunities within the hemp industry, and the importance of working together on this critical issue at hand. It is necessary to strengthen the hemp industry supply chain and each of the players involved now and in the future to make a meaningful impact.
Through our partnership with GHA, the premier hemp networking group, industry leaders gain access to top-tier research, potential board, advisory board, and committee appointments, form relationships and collaborate on projects focused on propelling the industry forward. This expanding network is made up of leaders, go-getters, and serious professionals ready to take this industry to the next level. Together we aim to build consumer demand, share leading edge education and resources for Farmers, Processors, Manufacturers and Distributors throughout the supply chain.
Meet the Board Members
Mandi Kerr
Mandi Kerr is the CEO and Founder of the Global Hemp Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to growing the Industrial Hemp industry by elevating standards and highlighting leaders through Broadcast Media. She’s interviewed over 200 industry professionals—an up-to-date library of what’s going on in the industry as it happens. A knowledge base that’s extensive and diverse. The key is relationships. Mandi brings farmers, manufacturers, and other industry experts together to strengthen the hemp supply chain and educate each other. With 10 years of sales, event promotion, marketing, and networking experience, she can identify and develop opportunities in an ever-evolving industry
Caren Wilcox
Caren is an experienced executive in the public and private sectors in the U.S. Built a corporate department for a Fortune 200 company – reporting to the Chairman; developed new outreach component for a successful Presidential campaign; one of first appointees in new regulatory function for the U.S. government.
Specialties: Former deputy undersecretary for food safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture – regulatory oversight; senior advisor to leader in Congress; former senior business public affairs executive. Consultant in regulatory affairs, public health and food safety practices.
Fueled by the idea “to know the law, you have to test the law”, Joe’s passion to leave the world a better place led him to challenging Kentucky’s hemp law by strategizing with friend and actor/environmental activist Woody Harrelson and planting of four hemp seeds in the hills of Kentucky. This action would propel the reintroduction of hemp into the agricultural landscape of the United States and solidify Joe’s role as a Hemp Pioneer. In 2019, after more than 27 years of lobbying and research efforts, Joe Hickey became a founding member of Halcyon Holdings, Inc. Hickey is still on the board of the Kentucky Hemp Research Foundation and the Kentucky Hemp Industries Association, continuing to push the hemp industry forward with a revered passion.
Chris Kinsel
Chris is part of the management team at US1 Logistics. US1 Logistics is committed to supporting the growth of the industrial hemp community. In his present capacity Chris works with the Brokerage and Transportation Services team at US1 to provide that support through a managed network of over 15,000 trucks who operate throughout North America.
Chris began his career in transportation and logistics in 1978 and since then has held a variety of sales, operations, and executive management positions in trucking, air freight, railroad intermodal, public warehousing, and freight brokerage. Several of those positions have included full P & L responsibility. He has also owned a sales training company and managed in an assembly line environment in the automotive industry. At a recent industrial hemp expo Chris was asked the question “Why hemp?” His reply; “Hemp reconnects us to our roots as a country. Of all the opportunities we have to support something that is good for us and good for the world, hemp can have the most immediate positive effect. I am blessed to work with people that support that belief.”
Mike Bowmann
Advisory Board
Joe Hickey Sr.
Joe Hickey’s long history in the hemp industry started in 1992 as the founder and Executive Director of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative. Joe and Woody Harrelson established Tierra Madre, LLC in 1994 to focus on identifying and funding innovative technologies supporting environmental sustainability.
Fueled by the idea “to know the law, you have to test the law”, Joe’s passion to leave the world a better place led him to challenging Kentucky’s hemp law by strategizing with friend and actor/environmental activist Woody Harrelson and planting of four hemp seeds in the hills of Kentucky. This action would propel the reintroduction of hemp into the agricultural landscape of the United States and solidify Joe’s role as a Hemp Pioneer. In 2019, after more than 27 years of lobbying and research efforts, Joe Hickey became a founding member of Halcyon Holdings, Inc. Hickey is still on the board of the Kentucky Hemp Research Foundation and the Kentucky Hemp Industries Association, continuing to push the hemp industry forward with a revered passion.
Annie Rouse
Annie Rouse is the co-founder and board member of Friends of Hemp. She has spent the last 10 years building a sustainable supply chain for hemp as co-founder and COO of OP Innovates, a formulations company focused on improving cannabinoid bioavailability with its patented organic delivery system, Naturia+. She is also co-founder of the brands Overcome, Hemp Mellow and Anavii Market.
Annie earned a US Fulbright Scholarship to study the environmental life cycle of the Canadian hemp supply chain, received her BS in Economics and a Masters in International Environmental Policy and an MBA. In her free time, Annie is the writer and producer of her podcast series, Anslinger: The untold cannabis conspiracy – an interview-narration style podcast highlighting Big Pharma’s role in cannabis prohibition analyzed from 10 years of archival research. She is also the founder and Board Member of Friends of Hemp, a non-profit advancing the value of hemp by engaging our communities. She serves on the Board of Directors to the Hemp Industries Association, US Hemp Authority and US Hemp Roundtable. To explore more about Annie and her journey visit her blog, Think Hempy Thoughts.
Drew Kitt
In 2019 Drew began working with iHEMPx as Director of Business Development, distributing hemp genetics for cannabinoids, grain, and fiber. Drew has owned and operated a CBD retail dispensary, Two Moons CBD, located in Asheville, North Carolina since 2019. He is also a Brand Ambassador for Earthy Now, a cannabinoid products brand and national distributor.
Drew began his career in the hemp industry in 1996, he has an MBA with a concentration in Sustainability, is a Certified Ganjier, and is an Advisor for the Global Hemp Association. He has over 30 years of business experience in sales & marketing, business development, project management, global logistics, retail operations and sustainability consulting. Drew is focused on developing the industrial hemp supply chain, from manufacturer to processor to farmer to genetics. His goal is to reduce the impact of climate change by increasing to adoption of hemp-based materials.
