Executive Team
Allan Villatoro
CEO
Allan takes the reins at Discern’d Cannabis Purveyors as CEO after 22 years in the financial industry, rising through retail banking channels before moving into commercial lending. In addition to his firsthand professional experience, Allan brings insightful knowledge of the business world acquired while earning his MBA degree.
Allan Villatoro CEO
Allan takes the reins at Discern’d Cannabis Purveyors as CEO after 22 years in the financial industry, rising through retail banking channels before moving into commercial lending. In addition to his firsthand professional experience, Allan brings insightful knowledge of the business world acquired while earning his MBA degree.
At present, he is finishing his requirements to obtain a Dispensary Certificate—part of a professional credential program administered by GF Institute through Green Flower, Inc. After experiencing reduced anxiety and enhanced concentration during his initial trials of cannabis consumption, Allan realized that cannabis holds a myriad of additional health benefits; in fact, his daughter has been prescribed CBD to treat a rare genetic disorder. By serving as strong motivation for him to help destigmatize cannabis usage, these positive experiences propelled his career path to the retail cannabis industry.
As a user, Allan prefers vaporization of flower; he finds that his variety of vaporizers bring out the terpenes and flavonoids in the different cultivars. Among numerous new strains to the market that yield flower with great “nose appeal” and cannabinoid profiles, Allan’s current favorite is Piña Grande by Bountiful Farms—which delivers a great pineapple-citrus scent and a flavor profile that provide the refreshing zest of lemon.
Somewhat partial to the Trade Roots brand for its company-wide enthusiasm and passion, Allan is particularly intrigued that some of the identical terpenes (i.e., aromas) found in cannabis are present in other fruits and plants as well; for example, lavender—widely known to have a calming effect—has linalool as one of its main terpenes, which is also the main terpene found in specific cultivars such as Good Chemistry’s Lavender Flower.
As far as podcasts go, Allan enjoys “Different Leaf: The Podcast.” (Of course, he considers “The Discerning Eye” a must-listen, with his favorite episode perhaps the one on Cantrip, since he had no prior knowledge of seltzers.) In short, Allan firmly believes that cannabis has a critical role to play in helping enhance the quality of life … and he considers it his personal mission to educate as many people as possible about its life-changing benefits.
Team Leads
Gabby
Gay
Inventory/Intake Specialist
Gabby Gay Intake Specialist
Gabrielle, or Gabby, is an Intake Specialist at Discern’d Cannabis Purveyors. She’s been working in the cannabis industry for three years. Gabby is a fan of cannabis due to its positive effects on her, whether that be helping her sleep, manage her anxiety, or just enjoying her day.
Gabby is into flowers and concentrates. She believes you can’t go wrong with original flower and that concentrates have an enjoyable taste and elevated effects. Her favorite strain is ‘Do-Si-Do’, and her favorite brand is Botanist.
She believes that even though cannabis has become more widely accessible, it’s still stigmatized. She wants to educate people with her knowledge from her years of experience to destigmatize cannabis, and hopes that it will eventually be decriminalized.
Natalie
Guzman
Team Lead
Natalie Guzman Team Lead
Natalie joined the industry a little over 3 years ago, but has always been passionate about cannabis. Since joining the industry Natalie has learned the importance of de-stigmatizing cannabis and how crucial it is in the lives of so many people. With a mom who suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder otherwise known as COPD and Fibromyalgia, Natalie has acquired an interest in how exactly cannabis interacts with our bodies. On this journey Natalie hopes to stand as an advocate not only for those people who choose alternative medicine as an option, but also for those who work frontline and behind the scenes to make this industry what it is.
Lauren
Villatoro
Brand Ambassador
Lauren Villatoro Brand Ambassador
Lauren could not be more excited to welcome you into Discern’d! She has seen firsthand this dispensary built from the ground up, and together with her husband and CEO Allan, have made the original vision of Discern’d become a reality. Lauren holds a Masters Degree in Education with licensure in Severe Special Needs. She left a job that she loved to care for her own children, and now that they are in school Lauren is looking forward to working in the cannabis industry! You can expect to find Lauren and her welcoming personality upon checking in at Discern’d!
Purveyors
Sean Bouffard
Purveyor
Sean Bouffard Purveyor
Sean Bouffard is a Purveyor at Discern’d Cannabis Purveyors. After spending almost 8 years in grocery stores he has decided to join the cannabis industry.
His favorite strains are Jack Herer and Green Meadow’s Hell on Wheels because they give him an uplifting attitude to get through his day.
Sean strongly believes that cannabis needs to become widely accepted by society and recognized as something that almost anybody can benefit from.
Betz Grande
Purveyor
Betz Grande Purveyor
Betz Grande (they/she) – is a Purveyor and they are new to the cannabis industry! They’re currently getting a BA in Mathematics with minor in Poli Sci at UML. They smoke to go to the gym and it truly makes their workouts more enjoyable!
