Sessions are 75 minutes with 60 minutes for slides and 15 minutes for Q&A. Each session will be followed by a 15 minute break. Each presentation is a general session (there are no breakout sessions). ALL TIMES ARE MOUNTAIN.

Day 1 – Tuesday, July 28, 2026

8:00-8:30 Registration and breakfast in person
8:30-8:45 Welcome by Laura Stack
8:45 – 10:00 session 1 Yasmin Hurd
10:00-10:15 break
10:15-11:30 session 2 Carla Berg
11:30-12:30 lunch
12:30-1:45 session 3 Sion Kim Harris
1:45-2:00 break
2:00-3:15 session 4 Lydia Shrier
3:15-3:30 break
3:30-4:45 session 5 Iliyan Ivanov
4:45-5:00 close with Laura Stack

Day 2 - Wednesday, July 29, 2026

8:00 - 8:30 Registration and breakfast in person
8:30-8:45 Welcome by Laura Stack
8:45 – 10:00 session 1 Ken Finn
10:00-10:15 break
10:15-11:30 session 2 Aaron Weiner
11:30-12:30 lunch
12:30-1:45 session 3 James Berry
1:45-2:00 break
2:00-3:15 session 4 Sue Thau
3:15-3:30 break
3:30-4:45 session 5 Hannah Palmer
4:45-5:00 close with Laura Stack

$349: LIVE EVENT (includes breakfast, lunch, all-day beverages, parking, and materials for both days). 

$149: LIVE STREAM (includes both days - per connection - includes recording)

** This investment is PER PERSON watching. If you want to register a group, you can send their names and emails to Laura@JohnnysAmbassadors.org, and we will send you an invoice to pay online with a credit card. No need to register them one at a time! **

Welcome and Kick-Off

Laura Stack was best known in the business world for her professional moniker, The Productivity Pro. Her 30-year career as a keynote speaker, bestselling author of eight productivity books, and corporate spokesperson came to a screeching halt on November 20, 2019, when her 19-year-old son, Johnny, died by suicide after becoming psychotic from dabbing high-THC marijuana concentrates. Laura responded by forming the nonprofit, Johnny’s Ambassadors, to educate parents and teens about the dangers of today’s high-THC marijuana on adolescent brain development, mental illness, and suicide. Her platform now brings education, awareness, and prevention curriculum to schools, parents, prevention conferences, and coalitions to prevent youth THC use. https://johnnysambassadors.org/speaking

The Cannabis and the Adolescent Brain: Impact on Development, Addiction, and Epigenetic Trajectory

Yasmin Hurd, PhD: Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and the Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine

Yasmin Hurd is the Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and the Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai. Hurd holds appointments as faculty of Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and is globally recognized for her translational research on the underlying neurobiology of substance use disorders and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Hurd's research on the transgenerational effects of early cannabis exposure on the developing brain and behavior and on the therapeutic properties of cannabidiol has garnered substantial media attention. In 2017, Dr. Hurd was elected to the National Academy of Medicine and, in 2022, Dr. Hurd was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

Cannabis Retail, Marketing, and Young Adult Perceptions and Use Behaviors

Carla J. Berg, PhD, MBA, LP is a Professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health in the Milken Institute School of Public Health and the Associate Center Director for Population Sciences and Policy within the George Washington Cancer Center. She received her Ph.D. in clinical health psychology from the University of Kansas, completed her residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in behavioral medicine, and then completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Medicine. She also completed her MBA at Emory University in 2017. She was faculty at Emory from 2009 to 2019, transitioning to George Washington University in the Summer of 2019. Her research primarily focuses on social determinants of substance use, particularly tobacco and marijuana, ranging from macro-level factors such as policy and marketing to interpersonal and individual factors (e.g., psychological, biological). She has also conducted research regarding health behaviors and quality of life among cancer survivors. Methodologically, she has conducted large-scale survey studies involving both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, mixed-methods studies, and individual- and community-level randomized controlled trials, among others.

Supporting Pediatric Primary Care Providers: Screening for Cannabis Use in Adolescent Patients and Counseling Towards Behavior Change

Sion Kim Harris, PhD, MSN, RN, PMHNP-BC, CPH (she/her): Boston Children’s Hospital, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Sion Kim Harris, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Co-Director, Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research (CeASAR). Boston Children's Hospital. CeASAR is an internationally-recognized research center that strives to be a leading source of innovative, effective strategies in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of substance-related problems in children and adolescents. We have pioneered work in screening and brief intervention strategies for early identification and prevention of substance use problems among adolescents. We have been at the forefront of translating and disseminating the latest neuroscience research findings about the developing adolescent brain and substance use into our substance use prevention strategies for clinicians, educators, parents, and teens. We also partner with neuroscientists in implementing research to generate new knowledge about adolescent substance use effects on brain development, which we feed back into our educational and clinical tools, a unique strength of our partnerships.

Brief Motivational Interviewing-Based Interventions: How to Support a Reduction of Frequent Cannabis Use in Young Adults

Lydia Shrier, MD, MPH. Lydia A. Shrier, M.D., M.P.H. is the Research Director for the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine and Co-Director of the Center for Adolescent Behavioral Research at Boston Children’s Hospital

Lydia A. Shrier, M.D., M.P.H. is the Research Director for the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine and Co-Director of the Center for Adolescent Behavioral Research at Boston Children’s Hospital and a Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She completed a fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital received her Master’s degree in Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Shrier leads a program of adolescent health research using electronic screening and brief intervention for health risk behaviors in adolescents and young adults. She contributed to the development of the CRAFFT and S2BI screens for substance use in adolescents. She has developed interventions to address youth substance use in primary care, including interventions specifically for cannabis use. Dr. Shrier maintains an active clinical practice in primary and specialty adolescent care.

Hidden in Plain Sight - Identifying Vulnerabilities in the Development of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder

Iliyan Ivanov, MD: Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York and a Medical Director of CARES and FuTuReS programs at Mount Sinai St Luke’s Hospital.

Dr. Ivanov is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York and a Medical Director of CARES and FuTuReS programs at Mount Sinai St Luke’s Hospital. In his current position Dr. Ivanov utilizes his clinical expertise in the assessment and treatment of youths with ADHD, childhood trauma, mood and anxiety disorders, and adolescent and young adult with substance use disorders. Dr. Ivanov is the author of over 60 peer-reviewed publications featured in the American Journal of Psychiatry, JAMA Psychiatry and the Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. He also has contributed over 10 chapters to different textbook on psychiatric and addictive disorders including the Kaplan and Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, and the Dulcan Textbook of Child Adolescent Psychiatry among others. Dr. Ivanov is a member and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and has served as the past President and an active Board Member of the NY Council on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He is also a member of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Committee at AACAP and of the Program Committee of the Society of Biological Psychiatry.

Adolescent Impacts of THC Use: Brain, Body, Behavior

Ken Finn MD: Capitol Pain Institute, board-certified in physical medicine, rehabilitation, and pain medicine.

Dr. Finn graduated Medical School from the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston. He completed residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation from the University of Utah, and is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation as well as Pain Medicine, and Pain Management. Practicing medicine in Colorado Springs since 1994, Finn serves on the American Board of Pain Medicine Exam Council, Appeals Committee, and Executive Board. He is the President-Elect of the American Board of Pain Medicine. Finn served on the Colorado Governors Task Force on Amendment 64, Consumer Safety and Social Issues Work Group and served 4 years on the Colorado Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council. He was an Executive Board member of El Paso County Medical Society and helped Colorado Medical Society and Colorado Pain Society develop their position statement on cannabis as well as the El Paso County Board of Health and Medical Society on their statements. Finn is a voluntary clinical instructor for the University of Colorado Medical School, Colorado Springs Branch and sees pain patients at the Colorado Springs Rehabilitation in Colorado.

Beyond Delta-8 & THC-O: The State of Semi-synthetic Cannabinoids

Aaron Weiner, PhD: Addiction therapist and board-certified psychologist at the Prevention Research Institute

Dr. Aaron Weiner is a board-certified Psychologist and addiction specialist and speaks nationally on the topics of addiction and behavioral health, and the impact of drug policy on public health. His perspective is informed by his years of experience growing and directing addiction service lines for hospitals and healthcare systems, the current state of medical and psychological research, and his own observations in private practice. Dr. Weiner is a past president of the Society of Addiction Psychology, and his opinions have been featured in numerous outlets including Newsweek, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, and The New York Times. He is currently on the Public Policy Committee for the American Society of Addiction Medicine and a member of the Science Advisory Board for the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions and Johnny’s Ambassadors. Dr. Weiner is a counseling psychologist, former head of APA’s Division 50 Society of Addiction Psychology, and the Executive Vice President of Prevention Research Institute. 

Avoiding Potholes: Navigating the Cautionary Trail of Cannabis Use in Youth

James Berry, DO, Professor and Chair, Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, Director of Addictions, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience

James H. Berry, DO is associate professor and Chair of the Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry at West Virginia University School of Medicine and the Director of Addictions. He is board certified in both General Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. He received his medical degree from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, completed a General Psychiatry residency at West Virginia University and an Addiction Psychiatry fellowship at the University of Hawaii. He and his colleagues at WVU have developed innovative community based treatment models in response to the addiction crisis in Appalachia and are actively engaged in novel neuromodulation research related to substance use disorders through WVU’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. Locally, he serves as a member of the West Virginia Governor’s Advisory Council on Substance Use Disorders. Nationally, He serves on the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology’s Addiction Psychiatry Examination Committee and the American Board of Medical Specialties, Safety in Opioid Prescribing Committee. In addition, he is a member of the Academy for Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care’s National Integrational Academy Council and the Addiction Policy Forum’s Scientific Advisory Board. He has enjoyed advocating on behalf of those suffering from mental illness and addiction before audiences as varied as local town hall meetings to the United States Senate and other educational venues highlighting the nature of addiction and the hope of recovery.

Cannabis Legalization Trends in America: What Communities Can Do To Prevent Teen Use 

Sue Thau is a Public Policy Consultant representing Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), nationally recognized for her advocacy and legislative accomplishments on behalf of the substance abuse prevention field. She has an extensive background in public policy and has held high positions at the federal, state, and local levels.

Glad to Be #THCFree: Unlocking the Power of a Drug-Free Life!

Hannah Palmer is a dedicated drug-free advocate focused on promoting healthy lifestyles among young people. With a strong emphasis on the risks associated with marijuana use, she aims to foster a clear understanding of its effects and the benefits of living THC-free. She has a powerful story about loved ones with THC addiction and how it impacted her life. Hannah teaches Johnny’s Ambassadors student programs in middle and high schools. She will discuss her lived experience with loved ones using THC.