Growth Management
We partner with like-minded companies and add value where you least expect it.
Our Story
At Water+Trees, we have walked this road before. We understand the benefit of building trust and bring the experience required to help grow your business.
We bring years of experience derived from building companies ranging from healthcare to retail stores, restaurants, product development, manufacturing and distribution, franchising, film, marketing and media including wireless and music. We have walked the road before you and will help guide, problem solve, pivot quickly and add value where you least expect it. We understand the value of building trust and bring balance, expertise and common sense to business
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We partner with like-minded companies looking to learn from our mistakes and successes.
Our Team
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Tanya Griffin, CEO
A serial entrepreneur, Tanya brings over three decades of growth management experience helping start-up companies scale to meet growing demand amidst a strict regulatory environment. In 2011, she focused her attention from retail, restaurants and healthcare to the MJ industry where she helped win and operate dispensary, manufacturing and cultivation licenses in multiple states before building the first U.S. registered vertically integrated national franchise.
Understanding the challenges of cannabis-friendly banking and payment processing she then focused on building on FINTech and RegTech solutions designed to solve the biggest pain point in the cannabis industry, i.e., removing cash from point of sale.
Tanya couples exceptional business development experience with a smart, positive perspective uniquely positioned to bring balance, integrity and common sense back to business.
Joseph Ring, COO
Joseph brings strong management, strategic, organizational direction, fiscal responsibility, and regulatory compliance to the companies we own, operate and serve. A retail business owner going on 25 years, his direct, common sense approach to scaling small businesses has led to success across retail, manufacturing, brand development and product manufacturing.
Since joining Water + Trees in 2014, Joe gained invaluable knowledge navigating cannabis operations by driving smart systems and technology solutions to optimize farming and cultivation, extraction and manufacturing, and retail and distribution all navigated around transparent and stable banking and electronic payments solutions.
Approaching every business as if his own, Joe provides measured, sound advice rooted in years of experience managing people, balancing budgets and growing a business built on returning customers.
Andrew Cordes, Director of Operations
An experienced retail, dispensary and restaurant operator, Andrew comes with extensive experience operating MSO dispensaries as well as traditional mom and pop operations. His management skills coupled with his strict adherence to regulatory guidelines allows him to clean up fledgling operations and fix theft, leakage and cost overruns including revising S.O.P.'s to stabilize management and encourage employees to exceed expectations.
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Getting into the cannabis industry when few states were legal, Andrew has been able to take part in this quickly evolving industry. He brings knowledge on how to start dispensaries from scratch, including writing applications, processes and procedures. His experience extends to adapting large scale operations from medical to adult use.
Andrew adds to the already established team of problem solvers at Water + Trees to bring rock solid advice on current or future vertical cannabis operations.
Justin Cordes, Director of Retail Operations
A United States Marine Corp Veteran, Justin is a highly skilled, results oriented professional experienced in management, retail operations, team building, strategic planning, and problem solving.
As an entrepreneur with over 17 years of management experience at one of the longest operating and most popular bars/restaurants in Chicago, the “World Famous” Butch McGuire’s, Justin has an outstanding track record and unique ability to troubleshoot sticking points and redefine operations while motivating a team to optimal performance.
Justin’s mix of experience in highly regulated businesses, ranging from established businesses to start-ups, has helped to provide insights on how to build, adapt and grow businesses for over 20 years.
Lucas Nelson, VP of Compliance
Lucas, brings deeply rooted influence and connections that extend from transparent banking and electronic processing to regulatory compliance and MJ licensing and operations. His experience extends from operating and successfully scaling start-up including hemp-derived and cannabis products to running online MJ education platforms to writing and securing multi-state, vertical cannabis licenses. Always with an eye for compliance and maintaining strict adherence to State and Federal mandates, Luc brings a conservative approach to managing regulatory oversight.
Luc’s rare talent for guiding companies through strategic planning and operations is a tribute to his ability to pivot quickly and solve problems using viable solutions tested in the cannabis industry.
A weathered soldier in the MJ industry since 2009, Luc stands by his word and will consistently under-promise and over-deliver.
Braden Bingham, Creative Director
Braden brings a diverse background spanning marketing, engineering, photography, videography, and design, bringing a creative perspective to any role. His focus on understanding human behavior and connection is reflected in my ability to develop strong brands, craft compelling stories, execute effective marketing campaigns, and create visually striking content. Utilizing the latest tools, including artificial intelligence, braden strives to continuously improve his efficiency and quality of work while offering a wide range of solutions.
With over 15 years as a marketing professional with experience spanning from fast paced startups to fortune 500 companies, Braden is an integral asset to the Water + Trees team.
Deborah Jourdan, Strategic Advisor
Deborah is an accomplished Global Marketing Executive with 20-years of performance-driven marketing leadership. Deborah brings her years of marketing, management, business and financial acumen to Water + Trees as a strategic advisor on new product launches.
She is an entrepreneurial, creative force that leads through vision, drive, and big picture thinking. Her expertise encompasses marketing, messaging, brand identity, digital marketing, marketing channels, demand generation end-to-end strategy, packaging, planning, and customer experience. She brings with her strong relationships throughout the marketing and global business community that were built through fostering strong, highly collaborative relationships with all members, levels, partners, and clients.
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Mia Ring, Creative and Executive Assistant
​At Water and Trees, Mia Ring is instrumental in creating engaging visual content for brand partners. She collaborates with the creative and marketing teams to develop cohesive visual identities that align with the brand’s mission and resonate with the target audience.
In addition to her design work, Mia supports the executive team by managing project workflows and providing strategic insights that enhance overall brand positioning. She also conducts thorough market research to inform her design decisions, ensuring that the visual content is aesthetically appealing, relevant, and effective in reaching the brand's goals.