Meet the Team

B.Pharm

Lisa is an Australian trained pharmacist, and is the founder and CEO of Astrid. 

Lisa gained extensive experience early on in the medicinal cannabis industry as a Clinical Pharmacist and a Medical Science Liaison. As an early adopter in the Australian Medicinal Cannabis sector; her journey in the corporate pharmaceutical cannabis space commenced shortly after legalisation – landing a role as a Medical Science Liaison for both Medlab Clinical, and later on, global giant Canopy Growth. In both companies, Lisa worked with early prescribing doctors to navigate the complex regulatory prescribing process in various therapeutic areas. 

In 2020, Lisa left the corporate cannabis world and founded Astrid – Australia’s first boutique female-led dispensary specialising in medicinal cannabis.  Lisa’s vision for Astrid has always been completely people and patient focused; with the design intent for removing the stigma associated with cannabis. Subverting clinical and cold perceptions of the traditional pharmacy model, Astrid is illustrative of the wider conversation that is needed in destigmatising cannabis. 

Since then, Astrid has transformed and grown into Australia’s leading and multi-award winning dispensary. In 2021, Astrid won Dispensary Of The Year in 2021 by the Australian Cannabis Awards, and has been featured in Urban List, Cannabiz and the Herald Sun. Astrid also won Melbourne Design Awards in 2021, Top 20 Australian Retailer of the Year 2022 and short listed in the Idea Awards in 2022. In 2023, Astrid was awarded the Cannabiz Dispensary of the Year Award, as well as the Cannabiz Company of the Year 2023. 

As a visionary, Lisa believes in leading and innovating with empathy. This is seen in every touch point of the Astrid brand – Astrid’s reputation for patient care, compassion, empathy are unparalleled. In 2023, Commonwealth Bank awarded her with the CommBank Young Hero award, recognising her as Rising Star of the Year for her innovative and transformative work with Astrid. Lisa was also recognised by the Australian Journal of Pharmacy as Australia’s Top 20 Pharmacists, recognising her as Australia’s most Trailblazing Pharmacist. Since then, Astrid has been recognised by numerous mainstream media, including Forbes Magazine, Sydney Morning Herald and LadBible. 

Outside of Astrid, Lisa is passionate about cannabinoid education and research. She has worked with global and local organisations to help create educational content for pharmacists, including The Pharmacy Guild, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia,  Australian Journal for Pharmacists, and The Lambert Institute and Sydney University. 

Lisa is currently also an Advisor for various cannabinoid research projects involving Data Safety Monitoring and Endometriosis Clinical Research.

Astrid is now located in both South Yarra, Melbourne VIC and Byron Bay, Northern Rivers NSW. Both dispensaries bring together gentle curves and natural materials to reflect its devotion to natural medicine and grounded in science – creating a welcoming, open and comforting space for patients.

Hansen is the Chief Financial Officer of Astrid and associated companies.

Prior to joining Astrid in May 2022, Hansen spent over 7 years with a global insurer, most recently as a Senior Underwriter with extensive experience in Industrial Special Risks and Accident & Health, namely EBA and complex Group Personal Accident programs. He worked closely with corporate insurance brokers such as Aon, Gallagher and Marsh to provide risk management and pricing of complex risks. His portfolio spanned across the Australian eastern seaboard, which included ASX listed companies. 

Hansen earned a Master of Business (Applied Finance) from QUT, and a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Economics from University of Queensland. He is also an ANZIIF Associate CIP.”

MBBS, MPH, FASLM fellowship candidate

Dr Shu Ng (affectionately known as Dr Shu) graduated from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia in 2010 and has over 10 years of postgraduate medical experience in medical and surgical specialties. She undertook an 18-month Radiation Oncology research fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, USA, whilst completing her Master of Public Health (MPH) with University of Sydney. After her return to Melbourne, she spent three years in Radiation Oncology specialty training at Alfred Health and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, managing patients with cancers of the breast, prostate, bowel, pancreas, lung, brain, etc.

Dr Shu approaches her patients with kindness, compassion and holistic care. She is very passionate about helping patients undergoing cancer treatment or experiencing cancer-related symptoms, as well as managing symptoms in palliative care. She also has broad interests within medicinal cannabis including managing chronic pain, mental health, women’s health, neurodegenerative and seizure disorders and autism spectrum disorders.

As one of the early adopters, Dr Shu has practised cannabinoid medicine for over three years. She is an Authorised Prescriber and by 2023 has managed over 2000 patients and their journey with medicinal cannabis. Dr Shu is a member of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SSC), and Australian Chapter (SSCAC), and Australian & New Zealand College of Cannabinoid Practitioners (ANZCCP). She is also completing her multidisciplinary Fellowship with the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM). Dr Shu has been a keynote speaker at various events and podcasts.