Dr. Alyza Brevard-Rodriguez, also known as Dr. Beast, is a dynamic industry leader, strategist, professor, and multi-hyphenate entrepreneur leading at the intersection of cannabis, wellness, and qualitative research in leadership.. An OEF/OIF decorated, decade-long, 2x U.S. Navy combat veteran and former public servant, she has transitioned her career in service into building community-rooted businesses and platforms that challenge traditional models of leadership and ownership.

Dr. Beast is the visionary behind brands and facilities; The Other Side Dispensary & Lounge, SW3AT Wellness, Beast Anatomy, and the Coffee & Cannabis and Flowers & Tea podcast platforms. She is the first Black, Latinx, LGBTQ, Combat Disabled female veteran to operate as a licensed cannabis retailer in New Jersey and has spent the last several years shaping a new standard for what values-driven, community-centered cannabis entrepreneurship can look like.

She holds a doctorate in Leadership, Management & Policy, with academic work focused on women’s leadership and institutional power systems, and currently serves as a professor. Her classrooms, like her businesses, function as incubators for knowledge, opportunity, and empowerment. Her academic practice is widely recognized for bridging industry, policy, and lived experience into accessible, real-world education.

Her community initiatives have generated over $250,000 in direct community giveback, and named NJ Biz 40 under 40 in 2020, her leadership has been recognized by Mindbody, ClassPass, and Hoboken Girl, along with partnerships including the NHL New Jersey Devils. As a speaker, moderator, and host, Dr. Beast is known for driving honest, data-informed conversations about leadership, education, wellness, policy, equity, sustainability and the future of the legal cannabis market.

Today, she continues to build and teach others how to build, by empowering underserved communities with education, access, and the tools to create sustainable, generational impact