Deanna Callahan

Leadership Team

team page

Deanna Callahan

Chief Operating Officer

With nearly a decade of legal cannabis industry experience, Deanna has developed a vast range of knowledge in every vertical of the cannabis supply chain, providing her a unique perspective into the demands and requirements of building compliant, scalable businesses in the regulated cannabis industry.

Her sterling reputation is built on demonstrated success, leveraging her strategic operational expertise to optimize efficiencies, implement complaint procedures to ultimately improve the client’s bottom line.

Pioneering California’s early medical market, Deanna managed cannabis dispensaries and cultivation operations before transitioning into the manufacturing and distribution verticals.

As the youngest C-suite officer to date, Deanna lead production and distribution at Jetty Extracts, in the role of Chief Production Officer, where she tripled production, improved operations and ultimately increased annual revenues from just under 2-million to over 8-million in just two years, positioning the company as one of the top cannabis manufactured product companies in the state of California.

An inquisitive and highly motivated professional with keen business acumen and vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, Deanna went on to found Root Essential in 2017, a boutique consulting firm where she built an all-star team of industry experts & attorneys and provided dozens of cannabis-related businesses guidance on licensing, and strategic operational planning.

Today, Deanna serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Gateway Proven Strategies, where she is dedicated to playing an integral role in positioning this world-class consulting firm to advance the legitimacy of the cannabis and hemp industries and drive corporate giants to adopt hemp-derived bio-renewable alternatives.

Andrew Ellis
Angie O’Keefe
Ashley Grace
Dani Staley
Private: David Nagel
Eric Singular
Halston Puchek
Jeff Frazier
Stan Fischer
Tian Scherer

Andrew Ellis

Operations Lead

Andrew Ellis is an established operations leader with an extensive work history assisting both public and private sector clients to navigate strategic, regulatory, and operational challenges. He has led projects for clients in highly regulated industries including cannabis, alcohol, energy, finance, healthcare, and transportation.

Angie O’Keefe

Angie O’Keefe comes to GPS with nearly 25 years of operational and financial experience. She spent the last seven years running operations for private equity-backed software companies, which included establishing best practices across sales, finance, marketing, customer success, and other functional areas, as well as integrating eight acquisitions across four different platform investments.

Ashley Grace

Marketing Subject Matter Expert

Ashley Grace is a consumer packaged goods industry veteran who has worked with most of the top Food and Beverage companies at some point, has been a part of 4 David Ogilvy Award winning (Campbell Soup, Pepperidge Farm, Brown Forman, Career Education), was recognized for Innovation Leadership by PepsiCo, and spoke twice at Nestle’s Global Digital Marketing Summit.

Dani Staley

Director of Client Services

Danielle Staley serves as the Director of Client Services for GPS where she ensures all clients receive a premium white-glove service experience.

Private: David Nagel

VP of Global Development for Asia-Pacific

David J. Nagel is VP of Global Development for Asia-Pacific Opportunities and has extensive experience in highly regulated industries including liquor, consumer packaged supply chain goods, oil and gas, hemp, gaming, zoning/construction law, broadband, tax mitigation and securities, with experience in an array of areas

Eric Singular

Project Manager/ Hemp Subject Matter Expert

Eric’s path into the hemp industry began in the agricultural sector, heading up marketing for the leading North American provider of AOSCA certified hemp seed, Bija Hemp. Eric brings a unique perspective to the entire industrial hemp supply chain.

Halston Puchek

Marketing and Business Development

Halston Puchek became a pioneer in Colorado’s medical marijuana industry since its formation in 2009, sitting on local and national panels, hosting political events, providing locations for industry networking gatherings, advocating, and volunteering; She also operated one of the first vertically integrated, licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Boulder, Colorado.

Jeff Frazier

Consultant

Jeff Frazier advises individuals and companies doing business in Latin America, primarily Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

Stan Fischer

Security & Corporate Intelligence Officer

Stanton Fischer joins Franklin Global, Inc. as Senior Vice President following a 20-year career in the FBI. His FBI career started in Los Angeles where he was assigned to national security matters, including espionage, counterintelligence and counter-proliferation investigations.

Tian Scherer

Project Manager

An integral part of the California Cannabis industry for nearly a decade, a veteran retail operations expert, and renowned writer, Tian has made quite an impact on the cannabis industry.