Precision In Practice, Power
In Results.

Welcome to KND, where we bring our combined experiences as government officials, in-house counsels, regulators and strategic consultants to provide solutions to your business challenges.  With extensive experience in the heavily-regulated cannabis industry, we have worked inside of national cannabis companies to steer their policy objectives and help them grow from a single retail store to multi-state operators. We have also worked within startups in the ancillary space, and within government agencies, boards, and task forces. We know firsthand what laws, regulations and policies allow businesses to thrive, and we advocate for legal and policy solutions with state regulators, legislators, and other stakeholders accordingly.

Our co-founders collectively have more than two decades of experience in all aspects of the cannabis industry, and more than two decades as practicing attorneys working within and around government. We stand ready to guide you through every twist and turn of the ever evolving, ever unpredictable cannabis industry.

Through our Government Affairs roles at competing companies, we learned the value of fostering coalitions that lift all boats. We can help your company develop beneficial relationships with diverse stakeholders and unified  strategies to optimize your business. We understand your business priorities and use our robust experience, wide networks, and problem-solving skills to ensure your desired outcomes are not just envisioned but realized.

At KND Group, we don't just represent: we empower and lead. Let's shape the future of the cannabis industry together.

Meet KND

We pride ourselves on being a women-led team of attorneys and government affairs leaders. Our diverse backgrounds, passion for problem-solving, and unwavering dedication to advancing our clients’ goals converge to deliver exceptional results for our clients.

  • Katie assists clients on a variety of regulatory and legislative issues. She focuses her practice on heavily regulated industries, including cannabis, gaming, and financial services.

    Katie has held roles in-house at a multi-state-cannabis company as the Director of Government Affairs and as General Counsel for a cannabis tech-start up. She previously served as Chair of the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association, a group that she still works with today.

    Prior to working in cannabis, Katie served as Assistant Secretary for General Government and Financial Services in the New York State Governor’s Office where she negotiated key policy initiatives and oversaw policy and operations for six agencies. Katie’s depth of experience within government, in-house a regulated entity, and in the ancillary startup space, uniquely qualifies her to provide unmatched legal and business advice to her clients.

    Katie was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, “Ones to Watch,” List for Administrative and Regulatory law in 2021. In 2018, she was profiled as an Albany 40 Under 40 Rising Star.

  • Ngiste is an experienced cannabis policy expert. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of Virginia’s Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council.

    Previously, she was VP of Public Policy at Columbia Care, a publicly traded national cannabis company, President of the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association, and in the executive leadership for cannabis associations in DC, Illinois, and Delaware.

    Before entering cannabis policy, Ngiste was a founding partner in Undaunted Ventures, a political consulting firm which specializes in innovative narrative, training, and leadership coaching services.

    Ngiste holds a BA in Public Policy from the University of Chicago and a Masters in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. She happily gives and receives recommendations for sci-fi novels and board games.

  • Dina is a leader in the regulated cannabis industry. She is passionate about helping businesses, especially startups, thrive. She has diverse skills gained through her myriad leadership roles in the regulated cannabis industry, including as a government affairs executive, attorney, chief compliance officer, regulatory advisor and liaison, trade association board member, and co-founder/president of a cannabis networking organization. She is committed to helping clients navigate the ever-evolving challenges of operating in highly regulated industries.

    Dina most recently served as Senior Vice President at Green Thumb Industries. She guided it in governmental and regulatory affairs matters at all levels of government, provided counsel on regulatory matters, and established and oversaw Green Thumb’s social equity program.

    Dina began her involvement in the cannabis industry in 2014 by helping Green Thumb apply for and win Illinois cultivation and dispensary licenses. She then served as external and then in-house regulatory compliance and litigation counsel. In 2018 she provided legal and regulatory support in connection with Green Thumb going public on the Canadian Securities Exchange. In 2019 she created and then led its government affairs department. Dina also created and oversaw Green Thumb’s social equity program and created its social equity License Education Application Program (LEAP), which helped applicants navigate the adult use cannabis business application process in Illinois. Through these roles and her informal roles, Dina helped Green Thumb go from an idea on paper in 2014 to a publicly traded company in 2018 and to being an industry leader today.

    Dina is an experienced attorney who, before joining Green Thumb and specializing in cannabis law, was a partner at a business litigation law firm, where she spent a decade representing plaintiffs and defendants in business disputes throughout the country.

    PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

    • Co-created and co-taught a Cannabis Law & Policy course as an adjunct professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law

    • Co-founded and served as President of Illinois Women in Cannabis, a not-for-profit focused on serving, supporting and advancing women in the Illinois cannabis industry

    • Served on multiple cannabis trade association boards

    • Lecture widely on cannabis topics, addressing national trade conferences and national legal conferences.

    EDUCATION

    • Northwestern University School of Law – Juris Doctor

    • Oberlin College – Bachelor of Arts

    SELECT INDUSTRY RECOGNITION

    • The American Lawyer: named a Midwest Trailblazer for 2021

    • Chicago Sun-Times: named one of the 10 most influential people in cannabis for 2018

    • South by Southwest (SXSW): featured speaker in 2024 and 2021

    • Crain’s Chicago Business: identified as cannabis industry leader in 2014, 2019 and 2020