Our Team
Female-founded and led by a licensed healthcare professional, our core leadership team unites two decades of experience in the LA cannabis market with expertise in political advocacy, healthcare, technology, finance and branding. We are the only cannabis retailer in Los Angeles founded by a credentialed health care professional and our medical advisory board includes respected physicians, neuro-psychologists, and wellness experts.
Nicole Fox, MPH. RD
Nicole is a social entrepreneur, visionary and seasoned cannabis activist in the LA medical cannabis scene since 2003, co-founding two of the first dispensaries, The Green Goddess and The Higher Path, that she successfully operated for five years. She is also the co-founder and has been head of Business Development for Firebird Craft Cannabis for the past decade. She currently serves on the board for the Southern California Coalition, LA’s largest and most inclusive cannabis trade association and continues to actively shape local legislative policy, and is actively involved in the Conscious Capitalism movement locally and nationally. Nicole has 25 years of experience as an expert wellness entrepreneur, is a UCLA-trained Registered Dietitian, and has completed extensive post-graduate training in functional and integrative medicine. She is the only healthcare professional in California to have founded a retail cannabis operation.
Veena Parekh
Veena is a senior communications leader with a deep commitment to mind-body health, sustainable business and innovation. Veena brings a unique perspective from her 15-year career that bridges corporate communications at global, public companies and the sustainability and community development fields. Veena lived in Amsterdam for over a decade, the world’s oldest regulated cannabis market and a hub for innovation and social change. She worked in the corporate sector there, developing expertise in social media and digital strategy, employee engagement, media relations, and branding. Veena is passionate about community empowerment and believes that businesses can and should make a positive change in the world. Veena received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley and her Masters in Development Studies from Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Erron Silverstein
Erron brings financial, strategic and operational experience in both high-growth entrepreneurial startups and large established software corporations. He pioneered CityGrid, the first online local-targeted ad product, and most recently founded Connectivity, a Customer Insights SaaS company, serving as CFO and managing Human Resources. He holds an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management, and a BA in History and International Relations from Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences. Erron has developed Aeon Botanika’s compliance program, leads the government affairs and labor relations, and is an expert at financial modeling, and data analysis. He has also been working closely with the legal team to create Standard Operating Procedures to ensure each Aeon Botanika location operates smoothly and in alignment with local and State regulations.
Chad Jones
Chad builds and nurtures all of the company’s relationships with brands carried at Aeon Botanika stores. He has led the creation of the Aeon Botanika Sourcing Policy that guides our selection of brands that align with our ethos of being catalysts for change. Chad offers strategic insight garnered from over 30 years of experience in retail operations, advertising technology, and the music production industry. He’s worked for multimillion dollar tech companies (Wired Digital, Lycos/Terra Nova, Tellme Networks) implementing and managing ad serving technology and teams; produced music and sound design for multinational brands (Animal Planet, Wolters Kluwer, Canterbury); was part of a worker-owned coop for over 4 years (Good Vibrations); and contracted for partnership development with a cutting edge music technology company (SubPac). He holds a BA in Audio Production from Middlesex University, UK.
Medical Advisory Board
Moshe Ben-Roohi, M.D.
Moshe Ben-Roohi, M.D. currently practices at Santa Monica’s Lifespan Institute in the field of physical medicine. He specializes in treating patients with degenerative joint disease and spinal conditions that cause chronic pain and that require alternative treatment therapies. Among these therapies, Dr. Ben-Roohi has recommended a full array of THC/CBD formulations to his patients and champions the use of cannabis to treat chronic pain and to wean patients from their dependence on addictive pharmaceuticals.
Jocelyne Eberstein, LAC, OMD
Jocelyne Eberstein, a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of oriental medicine, founded Los Angeles’ eCenter in 1990. The eCenter combines naturopathic therapy, systems biology, and the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine to tailor a person’s treatment regimen to their temperament and lifestyle. Dr. Eberstein’s belief in cannabis’ medicinal value stems from her command of the TCM Materia Medica and related research documenting the plants use in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 1,800 years. For this reason, Dr. Eberstein has recommended cannabis to her patients for over a decade.
Holly Edge-Booth, PH.D.
Dr. Holly Edge-Booth is a clinical neuropsychologist with specialized training in brain, mind and behavior relationships and the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of individuals with neurological, medical, neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders across the lifespan. Dr. Edge-Booth supports holistic, multidisciplinary care and treatment that includes focus on nutrition, exercise, stress/mood management, optimal sleep and cognitive rehabilitation.
Chanda Macias, PH.D.
Dr. Chanda Macias is the owner and general manager of the National Holistic Healing Center Medical Marijuana Dispensary (“NHHC”) in Washington D.C NHHC is a patient treatment center (and advocacy group) dedicated to providing patients with debilitating medical conditions a cannabis alternative to traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals. As she did at NHHC, Dr. Macias will guide Aeon staff and will instruct Aeon Wellness Consultants on specific cannabis strains and dosages for targeted ailments.
Martin Polanco Hesse, M.D.
Martin Polanco Hesse M.D. is the founder and program director of The Mission Within, a clinical program designed to treat veterans of U.S Special Operation Forces who suffer from traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, addiction and related medical conditions attributable to their military service. Dr. Hesse advocates the use of plant medicine, including cannabis, as a viable treatment alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals. Dr. Polanco Hesse will advise Aeon on its treatment of military veterans and will assist the company in its outreach to PTSD patients across the West Hollywood and Los Angeles community.