Ted Whitney

Ted studied molecular biology in college and after a brief time working in research he began to focus on sales – sharing his passion for beverage with people all over the world. Ted spent nearly 20 years working in craft beer, developing some of the fastest growing brands in the country into significant forces in the beverage market. In 2017 he switched industries, joining the recreational cannabis market in California. There he worked in sales, operations and retail doing everything from running one of the largest extraction labs in CA to opening and staffing dispensaries while writing SOPs for their operations and compliance. The struggles of the regulated market in CA inspired Ted to gravitate towards the hemp industry and in 2022 he made the shift. Ted views hemp as the way to improve access to recreation and relief for millions of people while taking bites out of the illicit market, improving public safety, improving access to the market for suppliers and increasing state revenue from cannabinoids. He currently works as the Chief Beverage Officer for Cheech and Chong and is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the 400 member Hemp Beverage Alliance.