The Alchemist, known for his meticulous craftsmanship and deep appreciation for high-quality, curated experiences, brings an expert palate and connoisseur’s insight to judging a cannabis competition. His artistry in music mirrors the precision and creativity required to recognize top-tier cannabis.

Founder of CAM
Anna Willey is the founder of California Artisanal Medicine (CAM) and a respected leader in the cannabis industry. Born in India, she moved to the United States at a young age and grew up in New York from the age of two. These early experiences helped shape her resilience, work ethic, and determination.

She began building CAM with a vision to create a high-quality, people-focused company rooted in strong culture and community. Starting with indoor cultivation in Sacramento, she grew the company into a large-scale operation supported by a dedicated team.

Throughout her journey, Anna has remained hands-on, resilient, and committed to innovation. She has led CAM through major growth, facility expansions, and evolving industry challenges, while always prioritizing her team and company values. Her leadership has helped create opportunities for employees, build long-term partnerships, and strengthen CAM’s presence statewide.

Today, Anna continues to guide CAM with a focus on sustainability, quality, and culture, positioning the company for continued success in the future.

With more than two decades immersed in cannabis culture, BLACKLEAF has dedicated his life to understanding and advancing the plant. A cultivator and breeder for over 23 years, his work is rooted in a deep passion for genetics, quality, and the endless creative potential within cannabis.
As the host of the most influential cannabis podcast First Smoke of the Day, he has spent years documenting the evolution of the industry. sitting down with the innovators, breeders, growers and cultural leaders shaping the landscape.
A lifelong student of the plant, BLACKLEAF brings decades of hands-on experience, an eye for quality, and a deep respect for the craft to the judging panel at the Billy’s.

Don Morris is the founder and CEO of DNA Genetics, a Dutch seed company founded in 2004 with his partner, Aaron Yarkoni. For over two decades, Don and Aaron have consistently delivered award winning cultivars to growers and hash makers all over the world. Don is bringing a discerning palette and lifetime of cannabis competition expertise to the Billy's.

Fidels is a grower-led cannabis brand built on precision, taste, and culture. From in-house breeding to single-source cultivation and solventless production, every release reflects hands-on craftsmanship and a commitment to quality over hype. Fidels operates at the intersection of cultivation and curation….known for thoughtfully produced drops, collaborations, and community-driven events that bring the culture together in real life. Rooted in experience and driven by intention.

A lifelong grower, breeder, and OG Kush specialist, Ghost has been in the game longer than most. Founder of Kush Family Originals — a legacy brand built from the ground up in 2014 — he stands as one of the very few minority owners and operators in the State of Washington. Ghost brings decades of cultivation mastery to The Billy Awards, and has been making chads cry since 1973.

@GreenDragonLA
Glenn, Green Dragon OG, is a pioneering figure in both the music and cannabis industries, with careers that have run in parallel for decades.\ Originally from Northern California, he began cultivating cannabis in 1994 in West Oakland, adjacent to his music studios. While producing and writing Grammy-winning music—including contributions to tracks that earned multiple Grammy awards—he supplied high-quality medical cannabis to patients starting in 1996.\ He cultivated for prominent Bay Area collectives, including the 3rd Floor Dispensary in Oakland, Berkeley Patients Group, and SR-71. He also provided medicine for the first cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles, The Yellow House.

In 2007, he became co-owner and operator of Green Dragon Los Angeles, Southern California’s oldest continually operating cannabis nursery. Through rigorous selection and pheno-hunting, he has developed and perfected multiple award-winning strains, earning High Times accolades and establishing Green Dragon as a trusted source for elite genetics.

In 2018, during the first year of California’s recreational market, he served as the main indoor producer for Cookies including stains like Gary Payton and cereal milk.His ongoing innovation includes the strain “Toad Venom” (originally selected in 2021 as “Becky” ), which entered production in 2022 and gained significant traction in 2025–2026, becoming a standout in the market with widespread availability and recognition.

A true legacy operator, Green Dragon OG has shaped cannabis culture in California while maintaining a deep connection to music, blending creativity, cultivation expertise, and patient-focused advocacy across three decades.

Gz1 is an artist from Philadelphia who has spent the last 15+ years traveling the world smoking cannabis, making art, and embedding himself in the global cannabis community. Collaborating with artists from glassblowers to painters, he produces objects and apparel through Whatever Forever and HREAM — Hash Rules Everything Around Me, a lifestyle brand built around cannabis culture and the people who live it every day.

A Washington Heights native, Joe Hardway carved his name into NY cannabis history with the legendary Cuban Black Haze. As co-founder of @lamarinaboyz_ and @freedomtownholdingsllc, he's built a brand that stretches from Florida to New York — decades of experience, deep roots, and an unwavering passion for the plant. Joe brings that East Coast legacy to the judge's table at The Billy Awards.

Jon Foster is the owner of Grey Area Coffeeshop in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 1994, he moved other Amsterdam with his bandmates to establish the first and only American coffeeshop in Amsterdam. Over the years, Grey Area has worked with diverse seed companies and breeders, introducing many strains into the local market. The shop has become a must visit for variety and quality. Their love of music and cannabis is their driving force and continues to this day.

Back in the year 1996, Josh Del Rosso, aka Josh D, introduced the now infamous OG Kush to the world. Almost thirty years later, he continues to build on his brand’s legacy. Josh D will be dropping the first batch of Original OG Kush in New Jersey this 4/20.

Josh Schmidt is the cofounder of Sluggers Hit and a 20+ year veteran of the legal cannabis industry. Rising from the underground era to the executive level, he has built his career on authenticity, resilience, and culture. Josh is known for bridging legacy operators with today’s licensed market, connecting East and West Coast communities while expanding globally. His work represents the evolution of cannabis….honoring its roots while helping shape its future.

@_goodpizzza_
JP is the founder and host of the Good PizzZa Podcast, a NJ/NYC-based platform spotlighting cannabis culture, legacy operators, cultivators, and industry innovators. Known for his authentic Jersey energy and unfiltered conversations, JP bridges East Coast culture with West Coast experience, creating meaningful dialogue around the evolving cannabis industry.
Through in-depth interviews and on-the-ground coverage, he has built a respected voice in the space—valuing quality, authenticity, terpene expression, branding, and the overall consumer experience.

Kenji Fujishima is a pioneering cultivator and cultural steward with more than three decades of influence in the cannabis industry. Widely respected for helping refine and position OG Kush alongside Josh D, and for selecting the legendary Kush Bubba phenotype, Kenji has played a defining role in shaping modern cannabis culture and cultivation standards.
Throughout his career, he has connected cultivation, culture, and community—helping introduce OG Kush to artists such as B-Real and Cypress Hill while contributing to the foundation of iconic brands like Dr. Greenthumb’s and Insane Brands. Today, as Co-Founder of Craft Cartel and Craftco Direct, Kenji continues to champion craft cultivation, innovation, and cultural authenticity across the evolving cannabis landscape.

Lindsay MaHarry is a journalist and creator covering counterculture and medicinal plants. She produces video journalism for Leafly, with a focus on craft cannabis, legacy brands, and regenerative cultivation.

She is the founder of Mind Palace Herbs, an earth medicine brand specializing in teas, tinctures, and effect-based herbalism, and she works at the psychedelic art gallery The Chambers Project in Grass Valley, creating social marketing for exhibitions exploring the intersection of art, music, and expanded consciousness.

Follow her @__oystergirl__ across platforms and subscribe to her newsletter, Mind Palace, on Substack.

@maliklieblessit
Cannabis lover and enthusiast, often described as a connoisseur, taste maker, and a brand builder. Founder of Chalique’s. Malik has judged multiple competitions. Cannabis A&R.

Marty of Origins Tk is a Florida-bred surfer skater artist and life long cultivator rooted in legacy cannabis culture and authentic genetics since his early introduction in the 1980’s

Widely recognized for his foundational role in the Triangle and OG Kush stories\ Marty honors the growers, the history, and the craft behind the plant.

Born in Inwood Heights, Nelly carries the culture everywhere he goes. In 1992, Nelly was entrusted with a cut that would become legendary: Cuban Black Haze. Since then Nelly has kept that original cut alive for over 30 years. Widely recognized as the first to bring the original wave of Cuban Black Haze to NYC shaping a movement and cementing his legacy.

@skunk_va
SkunkVA is the founder of Lucky Dog Seed Co., a legacy cannabis breeder known for preserving and advancing the legendary Chem 91 lineage. With decades of experience, he’s dedicated to producing top-tier genetics for true chem connoisseurs.

Taylor Blake grew up immersed in Northern California’s cannabis community and helped her father, Tim Blake, bring his vision of The Emerald Cup to life. After cultivating her first outdoor cannabis garden in 2007 and attending her first Emerald Cup, she knew she wanted to dedicate her career to the plant and the culture surrounding it. Over 17 years working on the event, she contributed to nearly every aspect of the show—her favorite always being the competition—and eventually became Co-Producer. Taylor currently serves as a California Account Executive with SC Labs.

Tommy Lee is the Founder and CEO of Heady Heads, a premium cannabis brand based in Los Angeles that prioritizes uncompromising quality, purity, and innovative craftsmanship.
After relocating from Seattle in 2011, he immersed himself in California’s evolving cannabis landscape, building expertise across cultivation, retail dispensaries, and elite extracts—including his key role in the multi-award-winning Gold Coast Extracts team.
A longtime leader in cannabis culture since its early branding days, Tommy has been driven by the solventless movement, earning High Times accolades for non-solvent dry sift. That legacy fuels Heady Heads today, where the brand crafts ultra-premium hash-infused pre-rolls in collaboration with some of the finest growers in California—and arguably the world—delivering exceptional, consistent experiences rooted in passion and excellence.

White Boy Kev has been a prominent figure in the New York City cannabis scene for 30+ years. Born and raised in Washington Heights, he became known for growing and distributing haze on the corner starting in the mid-90s, a legacy he continues to this day. In 1998 he co-founded the illustrious La Marina on Dyckman Ave with his brother Jerry.

Zak is a genetics specialist for Ball Family Farms and the CEO of Hoodbaby.cult. With six years of cultivation experience and a year focused on breeding, he works closely with head of sales Bredan Keegan as part of the company’s quality control team, collectively making final decisions on competition entries.
Zak and the team have earned multiple recognitions, including 3rd place for Best Terps at the Zalympix 2025 and 1st place for Best Candy at the 2024 Connect Community event. Most recently, they advanced to the semifinals of the Proper Doinks High Rollers bracket, reflecting a continued reputation for producing standout cannabis.