Board of Directors | Athletes for CARE

Our Board of Directors

The Athletes for CARE, Inc. Board of Directors is an all-volunteer board, elected annually, is responsible for setting policy, establishing long-term goals, monitoring general operations, and approving the organizational outcomes and allocation of resources.

BIO: Selected 39th overall in the 2009 NFL draft, Britton spent four years with the Jacksonville Jaguars followed by two with the Chicago Bears. Britton says he used cannabis as a preferred method of pain management during his football career, and has cited the health risks associated with pharmaceutical painkillers as a reason why players should not be punished for choosing a natural alternative.

Vice President

Director

Director

Director

Chair

Treasurer

Bob Hoban is an AV® Preeminent™ rated attorney and seasoned full-service commercial practitioner. Bob is also Principal and Owner at Solana Business Solutions, which offers comprehensive consulting, management, regulatory, and product solutions services for the entire commercial cannabis industry – serving both THC, CBD and hemp business models.

Director

Frank Manganella

Director

Marvin Washington is a retired NFL player who played a total of eleven years with three teams: the New York Jets, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers. He was a member of the Denver Broncos 1998 Super Bowl winning team and was voted by Sports Illustrated as the 36th best N.Y. Jet of all-time. A voice for former NFL players in the NFL’s concussion lawsuit, Washington addresses the truth about the outcome as well as the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). An advocate for all-natural, non-habit forming cannabis, Washington is speaking out on the topic of using cannabinoids as neuroprotectants as well as an avenue to alleviate the nation’s #1 health epidemic: prescription opioid abuse and addiction. He has also lobbied the NFL Players Association to push for changes in the sport’s drug policies. Washington is a graduate of Idaho University and a 2004 inductee into the University of Idaho Vandal Sports Hall of Fame. After football Washington worked for William Small Wealth Management Group as a Financial Advisor. At Williams advised high net worth individual investors and Professional Athletes in the NFL and NBA. Washington worked in financial services for 10 years focusing on financial planning, retirement planning and estate planning. Now a serial entrepreneur, Washington is focused on the cannabis industry. He is an investor and co-owner of a number of cannabis ventures. Washington is also a NFL league ambassador for Athletes For Care and is a member of the Board of Directors.

Marvin Washington

Director

Marques Harris is a former NFL linebacker. He was signed by the Chargers an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Southern Utah. Harris has also played for the San Francisco 49ers. He also was a star wrestler, winning a state title in the 189-pound weight class as a senior. He also played baseball as a catcher and outfielder.

President

2002–03: Ray Miron President’s Cup Memphis RiverKings, 2004–05: Calder Cup Philadelphia Phantoms; 2006–07: Man of the Year, Philadelphia Phantoms, 2007–08: Pelle Lindbergh Memorial, Philadelphia Flyers BIO: Riley “Riles” Cote is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and is currently an assistant coach with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL). He played four National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers and was mainly known as an enforcer. Upon retiring from the Philadelphia Flyers Riley founded the Hemp Heals Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting cannabis/hemp as viable renewable resource, that can help increase the quality lives of all people. Cote also sits on the PAHIC (Pennsylvania Hemp Industries Council) board His role as the NHL League Ambassador for Athletes for CARE allows him to continue pursuing his passion to help athletes find safe non toxic ways to find relief, manage pain and guide them to understand self healing.

Player Advisory Council Chair

Gary has over 30 years of experience as a principal and advisor to asset
management companies, broker-dealers and companies investing and
operating in the cannabis industry. Gary currently serves as Director of
Legal Compliance for a leading multi-state operator of cannabis
companies.
Gary’s distinguished career began as a senior attorney with the
Enforcement Division of the U.S. SEC in Washington. Gary has also
served as a co-founder, COO, CCO and General Counsel for two
alternative investment fund management companies. Prior to launching
those funds, Gary was CCO and counsel for Susquehanna Investment
Group, a leading proprietary trading firm, preceded by a position as a
securities and regulatory attorney with Dechert, LLP.
Gary is an avid sports participant, fan and investor in several sports
entertainment properties. Gary received a BA from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, (1982) and his Juris Doctor from the State
University of New York at Buffalo (1985).

Director

Derrick Lee Morgan is an American football linebacker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). Morgan was selected 16th overall by the Titans in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia Tech. In 2011, Morgan participated in a 24-day charity mission to deliver 22,000 hearing aids to children and adults in need across Africa. Morgan graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in business management and is an enrollee in the University of Miami’s Executive MBA for Artists and Athletes program.

Director

Nate Jackson is a New York Times Bestselling author and freelance writer for a variety of popular websites and newspapers. His latest book Fantasy Man (https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062470072/fantasy-man) was released in September 2016.

Vice President

After college, Scott worked in a family Jewelry manufacturing business in Philadelphia until 2006. In 2007 Scott co-founded a data-driven digital ad agency called Audience Partners. The company specialized in running addressable audience targeted campaigns for Politics & Healthcare. In 2014, he ran voter targeted digital ads for Cannabis legalization in Oregon & Alaska. In 2015, seeing the political changes coming to many more states, he co-founded the Cannabis Rep Network (Calyx) to do sales & distribution in California. In 2017, Scott joined the investment committee of the Panther Opportunity Fund. Panther has invested in 13 companies across a variety of different sectors. From 1988 to present, Scott has worked for the Philadelphia 76ers, as head statistician for all home games.

Director

Director

Matthew Jason Nordgren is an ambitious executive, dedicated philanthropist, and accomplished athlete who brings a unique passion for creating strategic alliances. He brings breadth and depth of experience in finance, corporate development, and capital sourcing, as well as in building highly motivated teams of skilled professionals.
In 2005, Mr. Nordgren received his education at the University of Texas at Austin, while playing football for the Texas Longhorns football team. As a quarterback on a National Championship winning team, he developed skills that would be carried through his lifetime and core business philosophies. While playing football on scholarship for The University of Texas, he was able to graduate with two degrees in less than four years and was accepted into and pursued a dual master’s degree program at the University of Dallas. After playing professionally briefly with the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles, Mr. Nordgren went on to earn two additional master’s degrees in both business and sports management from the University of Dallas. He was subsequently featured on the Bravo TV show “Most Eligible Dallas,” while becoming a partner in the family business, NORDCO, Inc., a Dallas-based energy firm. This is also when he helped to develop, manage and build his first private equity/family office business with a sports and media focus which lead to a career in running various investment vehicles across a broad spectrum of strategies.
Throughout his career, Mr. Nordgren has been appointed to many executive leadership positions at a wide-ranging group of companies and industries. From real estate to sports and entertainment, from hospitality to insurance and financial services, from emerging industries to later stage leveraged buy outs, he is singularly focused on finding synergistic opportunities in early stage private growth rounds that have upside potential. He is committed to successfully helping manage the overall financial state of his partners businesses and the companies with which he and his partners have interests within.
Mr. Nordgren is currently CEO and Founder of ARCADIAN Fund and ARCADIAN Capital Management, a venture fund/private equity strategy focused on the ancillary service providing companies in and around the cannabis and hemp industries. More specifically, on Series A/B type opportunities where proven businesses are looking for growth equity to continue scaling into new markets. He was recently name one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the Cannabis Industry” by High Times Magazine and ranked number 3 globally by Business Insider in terms of investment companies focused on the emerging cannabis and hemp sectors. Additionally, he is the founder of Nordco Consulting LLC, a private consulting firm dedicated to the business development of middle market companies with forward-thinking vision. To date, Mr. Nordgren has personally been involved with over $7 billion in transactions and maintains a portfolio of approximately 30 plus companies.
Inspired by his belief that education and athletics can open doors for at-risk youth, Mr. Nordgren launched The Leadership Foundation—an organization committed to giving back to non-profits whose purpose is to empower youth through sports and education. He feels strongly that young people, regardless of their personal circumstances, should have the opportunity for a bright future and the chance to make a positive impact. Furthermore, he is involved with and contributes to numerous philanthropic causes and remains dedicated to giving back.
www.MattNordgren.com

Matthew Nordgren

Director