People to Watch: James Brobyn

James Brobyn | PHOTO COURTESY OF AMERICAN FIBER

James Brobyn
CEO, American Fiber Company

James Brobyn may be flying under the radar for many right now, but the medical marijuana executive is poised to grow his profile in Delaware in 2021.

A U.S. Marine Corps vet who earned a master’s degree from University of Pennsylvania who managed a nonprofit to success, Brobyn connected in 2017 with fellow veterans who were investing into a multinational medical marijuana effort. As a combat-injured veteran, Brobyn said that he felt strongly about the potential for marijuana to be effectively used to help veterans with traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder.

In 2018, he struck out on his own and founded American Fiber Company based in Rockland. Its holdings include a medical marijuana seed-to-sale operation in Michigan called Compassion Care by Design and Candelay Industries, which is the U.S. importer of record for certified-organic Jamaican and Colombian cannabinol (CBD) oil. Together the companies employ several dozen people.

Brobyn is a big part of the Valor Craft Cannabis team that recently was approved for one of Delaware’s new medical marijuana licenses. That new company, made up of Delaware locals including David Tuttleman and Bill Freeborn, has plans to expedite the construction of a 15,000-square-foot grow facility in New Castle County.

If his Michigan company is any guide, Brobyn will be prepared to expand to meet patient needs as the law allows. The Valor Craft team, which includes researchers as well as business leaders, aims to connect with higher education leaders about studying hemp for additional benefits of the plant as well.

“We’re a small state, we can get things done here, which is exciting,” Brobyn said. “It’s not just medical marijuana, but there’s other opportunities here for research and development.”