About Intrepid Scientific

Four principals.
One firm.

Intrepid Scientific is an independent scientific consulting firm offering lab accreditation readiness, GMP compliance, analytical method validation, microbiology, expert witness, and Federal Pathway / Schedule III advisory across cannabis, hemp, food & beverage, pharmaceutical, and dietary-supplement industries.

Why this firm exists

Most consulting firms grow by hiring junior staff under senior partners. The partners sell the engagement; the juniors execute it. By the time the work lands on a bench, the senior name that won the deal is two or three calls removed.

Intrepid Scientific exists to invert that model.

We are four principals — three PhDs and a pharmaceutical-trained quality professional — each with an established consulting practice and a public reputation in our fields. We chose each other after years of collaborating on shared engagements and expert-witness matters. We are now consolidating that work into a single firm so clients can engage four senior specialists under one contract, with one point of accountability, and no junior backfill.

What this means in practice

The names on the wall deliver the work. Andrew runs the project. Kate, Julie, and Tess work the bench, the audit, or the deposition themselves. There is no junior associate inserted after the sale.

Cross-domain teams without sub-consultants. A typical cannabis-lab readiness engagement requires analytical chemistry, microbiology, GMP and project management, and ISO 17025 management-system depth. Most firms have one or two of those in-house and broker the rest through referrals — adding cost, time, and information loss at each handoff. Intrepid has all four under one roof.

Standards-body credibility you cannot manufacture. Andrew led the ASTM D37.02 Quality Management Systems Subcommittee for Cannabis. Julie chaired the AOAC CASP Pesticide Think Tank and is past President of the North American Chemical Residue Workshop. Kate is the Technical Contact on ASTM D8493-23 and serves as a lead assessor for both ANAB and A2LA. These are not credentials we assembled to look impressive. They are seats earned across full careers, and they reflect how we think about the work: build the standard, then audit to it.

Vetted alignment, not assembled team. We picked each other. The expert-witness collaboration was the proving ground — testifying together against a common opposing expert sharpens your sense of who you can trust to hold a position under pressure. That filter does not exist when a firm hires a partner off the street.

What we are not

We are not a Big-4 lab practice. We will never have a hundred people. We are not a single-founder shingle. We do not generalize. We are a small group of principals who do specific things very well, and who have decided that this is the right vehicle to do that work for the next decade.

Cofounders

Each member holds a 25% equity stake. All four serve as cofounders, members, and owners of the firm.

Andrew Samann

B.S. Biochemistry (University of Michigan)

Andrew Samann is an experienced pharmaceutical professional with a strong background in the cannabis industry, recognized as a Processing Pro on The Cannabis Scientist's Power List for 2021 and 2022. With a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Michigan, he has applied his pharmaceutical expertise to develop and implement GMP-based processes in cannabis production, ensuring international compliance with FDA, EU, EMA, Australian TGO, and ICH guidelines. As the founder and CEO of Orion GMP Solutions, Andrew has successfully led over 100 projects across North and South America and the European Union, specializing in strategic GMP process development and quality management systems for cannabis and bioactive materials. He has contributed significantly to the industry, including having led the ASTM D37.02 Quality Management Systems Subcommittee for Cannabis, certifying multiple Canadian cannabis LPs, and providing strategic solutions to challenges faced by cannabis companies. Andrew is also an accomplished speaker, having participated in numerous industry conferences and published articles on cannabis quality and research.

Credentials & affiliations

  • ·B.S. Biochemistry, University of Michigan
  • ·Founder & CEO, Orion GMP Solutions
  • ·The Cannabis Scientist's Power List — Processing Pro (2021, 2022)
  • ·Leader, ASTM D37.02 Quality Management Systems Subcommittee for Cannabis
  • ·100+ projects across North America, South America, and the European Union
  • ·Regulatory frameworks: FDA, EU GMP, EMA, Australian TGO, ICH

Kate Evans, PhD

Ph.D., analytical chemistry + microbiology · ANAB and A2LA lead assessor (ISO/IEC 17025)

Kate is the principal and owner of Longboard Scientific Consulting Corporation based in Colorado. Cannabis/hemp-related projects have included the following: helping third-party laboratory startups — including assistance with licensing, regulatory compliance, laboratory design & workflow optimization, technical consultant for ASTM PTP program, and lead technical consultant providing ongoing testing data review and rule-making advice (regulations) to various state regulatory bodies. She also supports existing testing laboratories with sample preparation (Technical Contact – ASTM D8493-23 Standard Guide for Sample Preparation of Cannabis and Hemp Inflorescence for Laboratory Analysis), methods development and validation, training of staff and ISO 17025-2017 implementation, and performs assessments for both ANAB and A2LA as a lead assessor. Her diverse technical background includes toxicology and pharmaceutical analysis experience (cGMP) with a recent project providing ongoing support in test method development/validation, instrumentation qualification, and preparation for FDA test method submission. She also has prior expert witness testimony experience in both testing and manufacturing (cannabis and hemp) and DUI cases involving illicit drug intoxication.

Credentials & affiliations

  • ·Ph.D. (analytical chemistry / pharmaceutical analysis)
  • ·Principal & owner, Longboard Scientific Consulting Corporation (Colorado)
  • ·Lead assessor — ANAB and A2LA (ISO/IEC 17025)
  • ·Technical Contact, ASTM D8493-23 (Cannabis/Hemp Sample Prep)
  • ·Technical consultant — ASTM PTP program
  • ·Expert witness — cannabis/hemp testing and manufacturing; DUI illicit-drug intoxication cases
  • ·Domains: toxicology, pharmaceutical analysis (cGMP), FDA test method submission, state cannabis regulatory rule-making

Tess Eidem, PhD

Ph.D., Microbiology · PCQI · Senior Research Associate, CU Boulder

Tess is passionate about bringing cutting-edge science and good manufacturing practices to the cannabis industry. She earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology discovering new antibiotics against bacterial pathogens, owned and operated a fermented foods company with her husband Derek Staebell to bring beneficial microbes to consumers, and got her start in the cannabis industry in manufacturing and quality management. She has food manufacturing training in Good Manufacturing Practices of Human Food and is a Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI). Currently, Dr. Eidem is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Aerobiology and Disinfection Lab, where she studies airborne pathogens and cannabis-related bioaerosols to characterize, monitor, and mitigate bioaerosols in cannabis built environments.

Credentials & affiliations

  • ·Ph.D., Microbiology (antibiotic discovery)
  • ·Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI)
  • ·Senior Research Associate, University of Colorado Boulder — Aerobiology and Disinfection Lab
  • ·Prior: cannabis manufacturing and quality management; co-owner of a fermented foods company
  • ·Domains: cannabis bioaerosols, environmental monitoring, microbiology QC, sterility, food GMP

Julie Kowalski, PhD

Ph.D., Analytical Chemistry · Chair, AOAC CASP Pesticide Think Tank

Julie Kowalski, PhD, is a technical consultant primarily serving the cannabis and hemp testing market. She earned her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry. Her professional experience includes troubleshooting, method development and validation for GC, GC-MS, LC, and LC-MS/MS in addition to pesticide residue analysis and chromatography method development. She worked at a technology provider for over ten years and recently served as Scientific Director and Chief Scientific Officer for a cannabis testing lab. She has previously served as the President of the North American Chemical Residue Workshop, served on AOAC Expert Review Panels, served on the Cannabis Scientific Task Force for Washington State, and chaired both the AOAC CASP Chemical Contaminants Working Group and the AOAC CASP Pesticide Think Tank.

Credentials & affiliations

  • ·Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry
  • ·Past President, North American Chemical Residue Workshop (NACRW)
  • ·Past Chair, AOAC CASP Chemical Contaminants Working Group
  • ·Past Chair, AOAC CASP Pesticide Think Tank
  • ·AOAC Expert Review Panels (multiple)
  • ·Cannabis Scientific Task Force, Washington State
  • ·Prior: Scientific Director / Chief Scientific Officer, cannabis testing lab
  • ·10+ years at an analytical technology provider
  • ·Domains: GC, GC-MS, LC, LC-MS/MS method development and validation; pesticide residue analysis; chromatography

Engage the firm

For a quick technical question, the contact form is the right tool. For a scoped engagement — lab accreditation, GMP build, method validation, expert witness, or Federal Pathway diagnostic — send a note describing the work and we’ll route it to the right cofounder.

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