Our Philosophy

PRESIDENT

Dr. Jaclyn (Jackie) Schneider is a double board certified physician in Internal Medicine, and Hospice & Palliative Medicine. She has been practicing in Buffalo for more then a decade. Dr. Schneider previously served as President of the American Academy of Hospice & Palliative Medicine Veterans Special Interest Group. She recently handed over the reins to Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, where she was the Program Director from 2017-2021 at the Jacobs School of Medicine. Dr. Schneider maintains her appointment as Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine.

Since 2018, Dr. Schneider has certified hundreds of patients from across New York State (NYS) in the Medical Cannabis Program. She is passionate about health and wellness through the use of Cannabis treatments, as she has witnessed first-hand tremendous health outcomes for patients in the NYS program.

Dr. Schneider is an active member of the Cannabis Association of New York (CANY), where she serves on the Western New York Regional Committee and the Municipal Affairs Committee. She has spoken extensively about Cannabis, both locally and nationally.

For fun, Jackie enjoys relaxing with friends & family, chilling with Curtis & the pups to take in an episode of The Big Bang Theory and live concerts, Buffalo sporting events and comedy shows.

RETAIL OPERATIONS MANAGER

Curtis began his professional career in the field of primary education after earning a Master’s Degree from Buffalo’s Daemen University. He holds a permanent New York State teaching certificate. After working with children with autism & their families for nearly a decade, Curtis shifted careers to put his technology and business skills to use, launching a successful IT & computer consulting company. At this time, Curtis formed his vision for a plant-based, positive-health-outcomes-focused retail store servicing his beloved city of Buffalo. He is passionate about helping people enhance their health and well-being with plant-derived solutions. And he enjoys putting his educational background to use helping people understand the intricacies and nuances of the Cannabis & Hemp plants.

With more than 20 years in the legacy Cannabis market, Curtis recently earned the highest level of certification from the internationally renowned Cannabis Training University. Curtis currently serves as the Secretary of the Education Committee with the Cannabis Association of New York (CANY).

Curtis enjoys coaching T-ball in his spare time, plus attending concerts and Bills/Sabres/Bisons games with Jackie…and of course chillin’ with their three pups.

VICE PRESIDENT & TREASURER

A Western New York native, Julie (above, left) is excited to be back in the greater Buffalo area. Having earned her BS from SUNY Fredonia and MS from Canisius College, Julie enjoyed a 25-year career in various Human Resource (HR) leadership roles that spanned the globe. With an eye on settling back into WNY, she acquired The Animal Kingdom in Orchard Park in 2010. She now looks forward to bringing a whole new retail experience to the community.

With her extensive business, operations, and HR training & development expertise, Julie strives to support her business partners in delivering the most comprehensive & inclusive community-centric retailer of plant-based wellness solutions for people & pets.

Julie, an avid Bills fan (ask her sometime about her party days with former Bills players waaaaaay back in the ‘80s), enjoys skiing, hiking, biking, swimming, golfing, kayaking and cooking in her spare time….and of course hanging out with her partner, Dayna, and pups Sadie & Archie.