Cannabis commission names four finalists for executive director
Photo | Grant Welker
Worcester's Union Station, home of the state's Cannabis Control Commission
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission has released the names of the final four candidates in its search for its next executive director, as the regulatory agency has been without a full-time leader for nearly a year.
Two of the four candidates to lead the Worcester-based state agency, whose names were released as part of the agency’s Monday meeting agenda, have current or prior connections to the commission.
The four candidates are:
- Matt Giancola, the agency’s director of government affairs and policy: Giancola has been with the commission since 2018, starting as its director of constituent services. Giancola has prior stints at the Office of the Senate Counsel and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, according to his LinkedIn profile.
- David Lakeman, the cannabis division manager at the Illinois Department of Agriculture: Lakeman served as director of government affairs of the Massachusetts cannabis commission from 2018 until 2020 before the move to Illinois.
- Marty Golightly, the senior director, clinical staff affairs for Cityblock Health, a Brooklyn-based healthcare company: A U.S. Navy veteran, Golightly served as the public health director for the Town of Abington from 2018 to 2020, according to AbingtonNews.org.
- Travis Ahern, who has been serving as town administrator for the Town of Holliston since July 2020: Ahern had previous stints at the director of policy and finance for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Advisory Board and as finance director for the Town of Danvers, according to Ahern’s LinkedIn profile.
Final interviews will occur in front of the public during the agency’s Monday meeting, after launching the search in May following the December resignation of former Executive Director Shawn Collins.
During the agency’s Tuesday meeting, acting Executive Director Deborah Hilton-Creek announced there were four finalists, a change from an earlier announcement she made saying there were three candidates.
Hilton-Creek said the hiring subcommittee had decided to move forward with an additional candidate during its last meeting, which was held on Oct. 17, according to the agency’s public calendar.
Each interview will be slotted for an hour and twenty minutes, said Hilton-Creek, with the chosen candidate being notified by the end of Monday.
If commissioners aren’t able to reach a consensus on a candidate, they will use a ranked-choice ballot to determine which candidate is the most preferred, according to statements from Acting Chair Bruce Stebbins during the Tuesday meeting.
Commissioners Nurys Camargo and Kimberly Roy expressed concern they were underprepared because they are not involved in the hiring subcommittee and, as of Tuesday’s meeting, were not informed on the identity of the candidates.
Camargo and Roy said their lack of knowledge of who the candidates were made it difficult for them to determine whether there would be a potential conflict, which would require their recusal from the vote.
Monday’s meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the commission’s Union Station headquarters in Worcester and will be livestreamed via a link on the agency’s website.
Eric Casey is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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