Meet the awesome Blair Wellness team
Matthew Blair
Founder
Mr. Blair is the founder of Blair Wellness Center, LLC (BWC). He is a seasoned entrepreneur with a combined 20 years of experience in the medical device and retail pharmacy industries.
Mr. Blair earned his B.S. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and began his career as analytical chemist. Mr. Blair entered the field of medical device sales where he worked for 15 years with some of the world’s largest medical device manufacturers. As a top medical sales and marketing professional, Mr. Blair educated and trained physicians and on emerging medical technologies.
Mr. Blair eventually started his own medical device and pharmaceutical sales and distribution company. Later, Mr. Blair started a retail pharmacy which specialized in compounded pain medications.
Mr. Blair’s experience with alternative pain medications gave rise to his interest in the emerging medical cannabis industry upon its legalization in Maryland. Blair Wellness Center, LLC was formed by Mr. Blair in November 2015 to pursue licensure as a medical cannabis processor and dispensary. In a very competitive application process, Mr. Blair was ranked 5th out of approximately 130 medical cannabis processor applicants from around the country and awarded one of only 15 processor licenses in the State as well as a dispensary license in Baltimore City. Coming from a medical background, Mr. Blair has placed an emphasis on educating and training the staff at BWC in an effort to create the most experienced and knowledgeable team of professionals in the industry to serve the needs of our patients.
Melissa Beatty
Clinical Director
Melissa M. Beatty, is a registered pharmacist through the Maryland State Board of Pharmacy with over 20 years of experience. She assists Blair Wellness Center on many levels. The most important being the interaction and couselling of patients.
Melissa is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach with a holistic approach to health and wellness and healing. Prior to working with BWC, Melissa worked with CARE Pharmacies, where she oversaw immunizations, patient care platforms, policies and procedures, and compliance. Before CARE, she owned and managed her own independent pharmacy for 11 years until she sold the business in 2013. Prior to opening her own business, Melissa held roles of increasing responsibility at Neighbor Care Pharmacies, most recently serving as district manager. Before that, she held roles at CVS ProCare, including as the manager of a first-of-its-kind pharmacy specializing in HIV and hepatitis, and later became and operations specialist where she traveled the country setting up similar stores.
Melissa began her career as the manager of an independent pharmacy in New Jersey. Melissa received her pharmacy degree from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.
Daniel Black
Manager
Danny came to Blair Wellness with a tremendous amount of managerial experience. Most recently, Danny was the Vice President at Chesapeake Closets in Towson, Md where he worked for 17 years managing and overseeing the business operations of this multi-million dollar company.
Danny attended Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. Following jobs with the Atlanta Braves, Danny moved back to Baltimore and worked for the Baltimore Orioles. With the Orioles, Danny was able to manage the world’s largest sports art gallery. Danny currently lives in Towson, MD with his wife, Laura and three children.
Devin Woolfenden
Manager
Taylor Ciganek
Inventory Manager
Taylor started with Blair Wellness in 2019. While maintaining a busy school schedule, Taylor has brought our inventory team together like no other. She started in this program two years ago and ever since has made it her goal to learn something new about cannabis every day. Since the program started, she has converted nearly her whole family into the program.
She is a concentrate connoisseur and prefers to consume with an electronic dab rig. She is a huge fan of gLeaf , Culta, and Evermore – specifically their live resin concentrates for terps and taste. She likes when companies carry a wide variety of concentrate consistencies.
Her advice is to try as many different forms of consumption as possible! She loves to dab and says that it is easy to stay in your lane and be afraid to go outside of the box, but over the years she has learned that cooking with cannabis, topicals, vape pens, and regular flower all have a purpose!
Outside of Blair Wellness, Taylor enjoys consuming cannabis, playing video games, and snuggling with her kittens. Inside the shop, Taylor enjoys having a family at Blair. “Every day I am amazed I get to work with such wonderful, like-minded people. I love coming in and talking about dabs with all of my coworkers. Few other places have made me feel so at home!”
Favorite Terpene: “a-Pinene, the perfect anxiety relief while keeping me energized and focused enough to get work done.”
Sam "Small Bags" Bass
Shift Lead/Patient Advisor
“I am Hawaiian, but a born and raised Marylander. I have been in the cannabis industry since I was 20, and then I started at Blair in June 2019 as a budtender for over a year. I am currently working on getting my second degree, a bachelors in Environmental Science. I hope to either do research with animals or work on a preservation, or apply my degree to eco-friendly grow cannabis. Very short, but very high.
Marijuana has personally enhanced my daily life and to help patients find the right medicine to make anything better, whether its pain relief, sleep, or less anxiety and some laughs, really means a lot to me.”
Sam “Small Bags” started at Blair in 2019 and leads her team as one of our Assistant Managers.
She loves to consume in all ways – dibs, dabs, edibles for sure, and rolling up blunts. Some of Sam’s favorite products are Guava IX, Ice Cream Cake, and Gelato Cake flower. She loves any Evermore LR cake batters, especially Funky Muffinz or Blueberry Muffinz. “I highly appreciate Evermore and Strane. Highly.”
Outside of BWC, she likes hiking, medicating, and sleeping. “Playing with bugs and animals is always fun too.” Inside the shop, she likes giving back some quality of life whether it’s pain relief, less depression, eating more or less, or sleeping better. “My favorite part of Blair is the relationships I continue to grow with patients and coworkers; the healing atmosphere.”
Favorite Terpene: “Myrcene and Terpinolene, I just want to be sedated and hungry.”
Dominic "Nico" Padilla
Shift Lead/Patient Advisor
Nico joined our team in 2020, starting as an Inventory Processor, he quickly made his way out onto the floor as a Budtender, and then moved up to Shift Lead. Nico is currently a full time student and he plays lacrosse on the Colombian National Lacrosse Team.
His favorite ways to consume are rolling up or dabbing. Nico’s favorite grower is gLeaf and his favorite products are gLeaf and Culta flower. “The taste in their buds are insane and their flower is always pretty.”
Outside of the shop, Nico enjoys playing lacrosse and rolling up. Inside the store, his favorite thing is scaling different strains and getting to see the flower in bulk.
Favorite Terpene: Myrcene
Gabe Ali-El
Shift Lead/Patient Advisor
Gabe was born and raised right here in Baltimore city. He played football for Poly, which led to a scholarship to play in college. After years of playing, he went to the coaching side and has been coaching football for the past 7 years. “I have been in the cannabis industry for about a year now, though I started at Blair in November of 2020. I absolutely LOVE what I do.”
When it comes to medicating, he’s a “classic” man, usually rolling up a joint or a blunt. “I love me some flower,” Gabe says, “preferably Indicas that hit like a dab.” Gabe’s favorite products come from District Cannabis, for their top tier in smell, taste, and effects.
When Gabe isn’t working at Blair, he’s working on his apparel business, WokeTrends (IG: @woke_trends, www.woketrends.net) or drawing up some new plays for his football team (for the day we can play sports again).
We asked Gabe what he loves about working at Blair: “I LOVE THE PATIENTS!!!! Interacting with our patients is by far the most rewarding part of the job.”
Favorite Terpene: Myrcene, Myrcene, Myrcene!
Paul Walter
Shift Lead/Patient Advisor
Paul first and foremost is a true cannabis enthusiast. He was born in Baltimore, MD and has always been local. He attended Eastern Technical Highschool where he played baseball and football. After high school he went to UMBC and studied engineering and biology before transferring to Towson to pick up a chemistry major. While finishing his degree Paul first worked as a budtender for Starbuds then left to work as a hydrocarbon extraction technician for Grassroots Cannabis; now, he works for Blair Wellness Center as a budtender and shift lead. He received his Bachelor’s in Professional Chemistry in May of 2020.
Over the past 12 years, Paul has followed all things cannabis science and as a result is extremely knowledgeable of extraction, analytics, and general pharmacology relating to compounds found in cannabis. He hopes to one day open a small cultivation, processing, and dispensing center that manufactures boutique small batch flowers and extracts.
Currently Paul prefers his flower from Culta, District Cannabis, Verano, and Evermore and will only recommend concentrates from MPX, Cresco, Culta, and Evermore. Paul primarily smokes out of his illadelph tube, but also dabs daily.
Paul is a HUGE advocate for scientific literacy, especially in cannabis. However, when he is not boring you about something sciency, he’s likely on the mountain snowboarding, toying with his car, or watching racing such as Formula 1 or the World Rally Championship.
Favorite Terpenes: Linalool and eugenol
Paulette Smith
Patient Advisor
Paulette has been working at Blair Wellness center since December 2018. She’s originally from New York, NY by way of Harlem and came to Baltimore in 1999 to attend Morgan State University.
Since graduating with her Master’s degree in Social Work, she’s been honing her clinical skills. Paulette spent 5 years with the Baltimore City Public School system as a Student Support liason and 4 years with Baltimore County Department of Social Services as a foster care social worker.
Late in 2018, she was introduced to Cannabis as a potential treatment for a recent diagnosis she received of Ulcerative Colitis. After doing some research, she applied for a medical cannabis card and began a regimen of CBD and THC.
Since she began visiting Blair, which became her neighborhood dispensary weekly and was struck by the positive effects cannabis was having on her health, Paulette decided to apply for employment. She also applied to The University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Masters in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics program in hopes that she could learn more about the healing properties of the plant and utilize the treatment with her therapy patients.
Which brings us to today… Paulette is currently the CEO of Paulette Simone & Associates, a Baltimore, Maryland based organization that provides psychotherapy services to youth between the ages of 9-18, adults and families who are seeking stability in their everyday lives. They also provide Cannabis Therapeutics consultations. She is also a 2nd semester master’s student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and a Budtender at Blair Wellness center.”
We asked Paulette about her favorite products and ways to consume: “With my condition, Ulcerative Colitis, I need lasting effects of THC and CBD throughout the day to help with cramping and inflammation. Tinctures allow me to dose throughout the day and vaporizing gives me acute pain relief when I have flare ups.” When asked who her favorite grower is, Paulette says “It’s so hard to say, Maryland has great options, but if I have to choose it would be Phytodabs High Terpene drops and gLeaf flower.”
Outside of BWC, Paulette is passionate about photography and videography. Visit www.howiseeitproductions.com for examples of her photography and videography. Inside the shop, she loves helping patients. The overall experience of helping patients choose products that will hopefully help their ailments is what she really loves about working at Blair. “I like being apart of the healing process.” Visit www.paulettesimone.com for more information on how she can help assist as a CannaTherapsit.
Basir "The Fox" Mack
Patient Advisor
2020 wasn’t all bad, because Basir joined our team a week after his birthday on 11/11! Basir was born in Inglewood, California and raised right here in Baltimore City. Basir can be seen behind the counter at Blair and has caught on quickly!
His favorite ways to consume include blunts or sheets. He loves (!) Sour Bobby by Nature’s Heritage, OG Kush Breath by Curio, and Star Dawg by gLeaf. His favorite growers include gLeaf, HMS, and Curio.
Outside of BWC, Basir enjoys playing guitar (he was classically trained for many years), listening to 80s rock/metal, and learning Japanese. He loves nature – going on hikes, gardening, and dogs are his weakness. “I like how positive I feel heading into work and the faces of patients when they are satisfied by a job well done.”
Favorite Terpene: “Definitely LIMONENE.”
Chris "Smacky" Lewis
Patient Advisor
Chris (AKA Smacky) joined our family in 2020, bringing industry experience and a vast amount of cannabis knowledge with him.
His favorite way to consume is “sparking up the gas.” His favorite products are Ray Charles or Dosidos 22-22 because they are indica heavy and put him where he needs to be. His favorite grower is Culta.
Outside of BWC, Chris enjoys making music, relaxing, and community service. He also raps and throws events. Inside the shop, you can find him making everyone laugh.
Favorite Terpene: Myrcene and Humulene
Jeron White
Patient Advisor
Jeron joined the BWC family in 2019, bringing industry experience and musical stylings with him.
Jeron’s favorite ways to consume medical cannabis are with flower, edibles, and topicals. He’s found migraine relief through products from Grassroots and gLeaf with good terpene profiles.
Outside of BWC, Jeron is a professional bass player/artist. He enjoys spending time with family, using Gods gift on Bass, and has a car hobby. Check out www.soundcloud.com/jeron-white and https://dimitrinassar.com/album/1578277/crescent-piano to see his work! Inside the store, he likes that it feels like family. “My favorite part about working at Blair is every interaction I make budtending, I know it makes a difference in every patient’s experience. Glad to be able to do that in my actual community!”
Favorite Terpene: Probably linalool. I love the taste, and a good terp overlooked for pain, but very recognizable for sleep. (Migraine relief by far.)
Greg "Double G" Myers
Inventory Specialist
Greg “Double G” joined our team as a Budtender in early 2020, bringing industry experience with him. These days, you will find him assisting in Inventory.
His favorite way to consume is flower and his favorite grower is Culta and it’s not even close. His favorite products are Dosidos 22-22, The Soap, Gary Payton, Runtz… “They’re just levels above everything else.” Fun fact about Greg: he was the 27th person on the entire east coast to legally buy real, legitimate Cookies.
Outside of BWC, he likes to grind, grind, grind! Greg is a fully independent hip-hop artist who just hit 2 million total streams worldwide. He is working to make this his full time occupation. “If you like music with substance and not just a beat with autotune, check me out on Spotify, Apple Music, or wherever you get your tunes nowadays (Double G.)” He is also a HUGE sports fan. Orioles, Ravens, Thunder, Caps… Inside the shop, he loves his co-workers. “Our team is phenomenal, the absolute best in MD, hands down!”
Favorite Terpene: b-Caryophyllene for focus and creativity.
Erik Spangler
Patient Advisor
Erik has lived in Baltimore since 2007 – the longest that he’s resided anywhere. Originally from Iowa City, IA, his path as a musician has been a journey through many different cultures and ways of being in the world. “Cannabis has been a key element of my creative practice for over 30 years, taking me through my Ph.D. program in music composition at Harvard University, community building with Baltimore Boom Bap Society improvised hip hop collective, and teaching electronic music at Maryland Institute College of Art for 11 years.”
Erik entered the cannabis industry as a budtender at Blair Wellness Center in January 2020. He would like to eventually apply his education experience to medicated music improvisation and production workshops, as a therapeutic, spiritual, and exploratory practice.
His favorite way to consume is to alternate between smoking flower or vaporizing it. Erik’s favorite grower is Evermore, and his favorite product is Blue Dream, for the creative elevation combined with relaxation, euphoria, and focus.
Outside of BWC, Erik composes and produces music in a number of different genres and performs with electronic instruments. He co-hosts an improvised hip hop collective called Baltimore Boom Bap Society – check them out on Facebook! You can find Erik’s music online at www.soundcloud.com/dubble8.
Inside the shop, Erik enjoys serving the patient community, helping people find both relief and inspiration through the medicine that is right for them. “I am constantly learning more about cannabis, and enjoy passing on knowledge when I can.”
Favorite Terpene: Pinene, for the focus it provides when working on music.
Brady Myers
Patient Advisor
Brady joined our family as a Budtender in 2020.
His favorite way to consume medical cannabis is vaporizing flower for its efficiency and delivery of flavor and effects. His favorite grower is Culta and his favorite products are dry herb and occasionally concentrates; Brady loves to toke!
Outside of BWC, Brady is another one of our talented musicians! You can find him @beradmusicofficial on IG or “Be Rad” on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp. Inside the shop, he enjoys being placed in a role where he can help patients find the right medicine for their own individual needs. “I love my family here at Blair and our continued commitment to improve the quality of life for each and every one of our patients!”
Favorite Terpene: b-Caryophyllene
Sarah Hong
Patient Advisor
Sarah joined the Blair Wellness team in 2020.
Her favorite methods of medicating include glass water pipe for flower, electronic portable dab pen for concentrates, and vape cartridges. Sarah’s favorite products come from Verano, Rythm, MPX, and Evermore. She enjoys the quality of these brands.
When she’s not helping patients at the dispensary, Sarah loves to smoke a lot of medical cannabis, eat food, and play games!
We asked Sarah what makes Blair Wellness special to her. “I love the family environment of BWC and the patient interactions. I also love talking about cannabis!”
Favorite Terpenes: Myrcene & Caryophyllene
Erica Buckley
Patient Advisor
Joining our dispensary in 2020, Erica was excited for her first cannabis job, but she’s wanted in the industry for years. “Blair has always been my go to for my personal needs, and I’m stoked to be able to now help the rest of the community.” You may recognize her friendly face from around the neighborhood, as she’s Baltimore born and raised!
Erica’s favorite method of medicating has to be smoking flower or dabs through glass. Recently, she’s been loving Kush Mints flower because it gets her where she needs, while giving great pain relief. She’s also been loving Grassroots’ tasty vape cartridges! She’s a fan of different brands, including Evermore for dabs, Rythm for vape cartridges, and Grassroots for flower, “always reliable and smooth.”
When Erica isn’t providing excellent service to our patients, she practices yoga, plays video games, binges Netflix, and naps on naps!
Erica’s thoughts on working at Blair: “The employees are so chill, the patients are hilarious, and some of the best medical cannabis products in Maryland.”
Favorite Terpene: Linalool keeps my anxiety low but alert to get through the day
Curt Johnson-Bey
Patient Advisor
Curt joined the Blair family in February 2021, and he already sees himself in it for the long haul. He was born in Germany, as his dad was in the military. They moved back to Baltimore when he was 3. “I’ve been working since 18. Done everything from fast food, to GameStop, to driving a bus. I don’t see myself doing anything else for the next few years.”
Curt loves to medicate with big buds and fat dabs. He finds consistent, top quality flower from District Cannabis. “Lemon Royale flower was the best sativa I had in 2020.” He also loves the strain G6 for its very euphoric effect. His favorite processed products are usually made by MPX. “They haven’t made a concentrate I didn’t like.”
Outside of Blair Wellness, Curt loves smoking, gaming, and spending time with his family. We asked Curt what he loves about Blair so far: “You guys!!! Meeting patients and sharing experiences is what it’s all about. Not to mention I get to talk about flower all day with dope people. What not to love?”
Favorite Terpene: Limonene (anti-anxiety and euphoric effects)
Shawn Posey
Inventory Specialist
Shawn joined our team in 2020. He started out packing flower and moved his way up the inventory team.
His favorite way to consume would definitely be blunts or papers. You can usually find him rolling up some Gelato Cake, Ice Cream Cake, or South West Stomper. “SW Stomper is a great Indica which has that perfect amount of myrcene to put you down every time. Gelato Cake has been my favorite since its conception, the smoke the taste and overall high is some of the best I have ever had.” Shawn also loves anything from Evermore and District Cannabis.
When Shawn isn’t at Blair, he’s usually binging his favorite anime shows. We asked Shawn what he loves about working at our dispensary. “Working with cannabis has been a passion of mine for years and to be able to do it and enjoy the people I have work with has been the best part to me. If we are truly helping people like I believe we are then that is what my favorite thing would be.”
Favorite Terpene: beta-Myrcene
Dylan Elie
Inventory Specialist
Dylan joined the Blair team in 2020. His favorite way to medicate is smoking flower in joints or blunts. He prefers to roll up with Poochie Love, Gary Payton, Dosidos 22-22, & Gelato – all premium gas. Dylan also loves most products from Evermore, Culta, and Strane.
Outside of Blair, you can find Dylan online streaming his video games. Follow him on Twitch @Skiii_Walker. His favorite thing about working at Blair is “learning and developing a better understanding for cannabis.”
Favorite Terpene: Myrcene
Jayda Simmons
PuraVida Patient Advisor
Jayda became the CBD Guru of PuraVida in January 2021, bringing industry experience and knowledge of the plant with her. She’s been a patient advocate and cannabis enthusiast since the beginning of the Maryland market. “I feel that I’ve found my calling sharing my passion for holistic health here at PuraVida!”
“I am a flower child in every sense of the word.” Jayda loves smoking flower with a glass bowl or medicating with RSO. Gelato provides the smooth hybrid effect she’s looking for in a strain. She recommends most products made by GTI (Green Thumb Industries), who bring us brands like Rythm, IncrEdibles, Dogwalkers, Feel Collection, & Dr. Solomon’s!
When Jayda isn’t helping you find the right smoking accessory or CBD product, she loves to paint, produce indie jams, and create her own wellness products. She loves the Blair/PuraVida community of “amazingly kind & knowledgeable humans.”
Favorite Terpene: “b-Caryophyllene! I’m here for the peppery pain relief.”
Hailey Withrow
PuraVida Patient Advisor
Hailey joined the PuraVida team in early 2021 with 4 years of quality customer service experience. Originally from Southern Maryland, she moved to Baltimore about 2 years ago to attend Towson University, and she’s currently a junior in their Acting program. “The vibes are immaculate in PV, the team is so friendly and I couldn’t be happier to be here.”
“My current method of choice is dabbing with a glass rig. I’m still fairly new to it but it’s quickly become my favorite way to consume by far. Some of my favorite products and growers are Culta’s Lost Cause & gLeaf’s Inzane in the Membrane concentrates, plus Rythm’s Black Afghan & Curio’s Blissful Wizard flower.
Outside of Blair I love to sing & perform! When I’m not working on a show, I enjoy finding ways to integrate cannabis into my art, spending time with my kitty Cannoli/my 3 lovely roommates, and watching as many horror films as I can find.
Inside Blair there’s a ton of things that brighten my day, but just a few include bopping to music & laughing all day long, chatting with our wonderful customers to discover their favorite products & ways to consume, and learning something new every day! Plus, the shop always smells crazy good.”
Favorite Terpene: “Pinene, because I find it helps keep my scatterbrain together while also boosting my creativity.”
