Cherlene (Lena) Erauda has moved her way through the cannabis industry from budtending, to cannabis packaging, to national media and partnerships. Graduating Bryant University business school in Rhode Island in 2020 during the start of the pandemic led her to enter the cannabis business space as medical budtender in Boston, Massachusetts. During this time, she grew close relationships with her Mayflower Medicinals team, and the patients she would see on a daily basis. From there, she moved onto utilizing her Business Marketing degree at Calyx Containers, a Boston/Salt Lake City-based cannabis packaging company focused on preservation-oriented design and sustainability. At Calyx, she worked on the Art of Glass campaign, collaborating with glassblowers and torch masters such as Mike Shelbo, Liz Wright, Marble Slinger, Justin Carter, and Vela G. In the past year, she joined the MJBiz team working in Partnerships to support MJBizCon, the No. 1 B2B cannabis trade show and conference event taking place annually in Las Vegas. Recently, she was promoted to a Marketing Manager of Audience and Content, and manages the communication and digital media strategy behind the event and overall brand. Cannabis is a core passion professionally and personally, and cultivates connections and community spanning state lines and continents.