Chelsea Mulligan is a nationally recognized cannabis operations and compliance expert with over 15 years of leadership in operations and nearly a decade of hands-on cannabis industry experience. She has triaged, stabilized, and scaled more than 80 dispensaries across the United States, managed complex regulatory environments in multiple states, and played a critical role in crafting winning license applications, including launching Arizona’s first vertically integrated cannabis license in Phoenix.
Known for her sharp instincts and no-fluff approach, Chelsea excels in streamlining operations, optimizing compliance frameworks, and building systems that not only meet regulatory expectations but empower businesses to thrive. From restructured SOPs to full seed-to-sale system overhauls, she has a proven ability to bring clarity and control to high-volume, fast-moving operations.
Chelsea’s leadership extends far beyond day-to-day dispensary management. She was a founding team member of the Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards (FOCUS), where she helped develop international, voluntary-consensus standards and wrote the Hemp Model Code in collaboration with regulators from the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and attended the CBD vote at the United Nations in Vienna. Her contributions have laid the groundwork for third-party frameworks that safeguard public health, consumer safety, and environmental integrity in the absence of federal oversight.
Chelsea is also a trusted partner in court-appointed receiverships, where she is called upon to assess, rehabilitate, and manage distressed cannabis assets. Her ability to identify bottlenecks, implement immediate improvements, and guide leadership through high-stakes transitions makes her an invaluable asset to investors, receivers, and operators alike.
Whether training internal teams, managing point-of-sale system migrations, or structuring investor due diligence, Chelsea brings a rare combination of technical rigor, operational vision, and industry foresight. Her work through Meraki Enterprise continues to support license holders, investors, and software providers in navigating the nuanced, ever-evolving cannabis landscape.
From the boardroom to the back-of-house, Chelsea doesn’t just get results, she builds companies that last.
