Faculty

Angelika Penuela-Ruiz was born and raised in California’s San Fernando Valley and is a graduate of El Camino Real High School. She started her cannabis career after graduating from San Francisco State University in 2015. She has worked with a variety of California operators — transitioning from Prop 215 to Prop 64 compliance — across retail, manufacturing, distribution and cultivation operations. Angelika has held key roles throughout many verticals of the industry, from budtender to operations manager. A passion for travel and safe access drives her to attend international cannabis events, and she has been honored to share her knowledge in places like Santiago, Chile for the South Pacific Cannabis Cup in 2018. Angie specializes in distribution and manufacturing best practices, with an emphasis in education and relationship building. While serving as an advisory board member for The Social Impact Center, Angie currently works as the Director of Industry Relations at the cannabis inventory management software company Distru. Throughout the pandemic Angie spent most of her time zooming with licensees throughout the United States, visiting facilities, improving workflows, and engaging in the cannabis community. She is an instructor at Oaksterdam University.