Safe Harbor Bolsters Lending Capabilities and Client Experience with Strategic Leadership Hires
DENVER, Dec. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SHF Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Safe Harbor (the "Company") (NASDAQ:SHFS), a fintech leader in providing banking, lending and financial services to the regulated cannabis and hemp industries, announced the addition of two key executives to its leadership team. Stephen La Rosa joins Safe Harbor as Senior Vice President, Lending Strategy and Partner Development and Cassandra Douglas as Senior Manager Client Experience and Onboarding. These hires represent a proactive investment in the people and capabilities required to support cannabis operators across their full financial lifecycle — from onboarding and compliance to capital access and long-term growth.
"Safe Harbor is evolving alongside the cannabis industry to meet the growing needs of operators," said Terry Mendez, CEO of Safe Harbor Financial. "With the addition of leaders like Cassandra and Stephen, we're scaling our capabilities in lockstep with our clients' success, from daily banking to long-term capital access – reinforcing our commitment to scaling client experience and capital solutions with purpose, precision and care."
As Senior Vice President of Lending Strategy and Partner Development, Stephen La Rosa is leading the expansion of the company's lending platform, providing solutions designed to meet the evolving capital needs of clients. With more than 20 years of banking experience across large and smaller financial institutions, his strengths include small business lending, relationship management, business development, portfolio management, credit analysis and risk management.
"Safe Harbor is uniquely positioned to redefine how cannabis operators access capital at every stage of growth," said Stephen La Rosa. "By expanding access to capital beyond traditional banking channels—through private equity, family offices, and institutional partners—we're building a more flexible, responsive lending platform. Our goal is to meet cannabis operators where they are and provide the financial tools they need to scale, invest and compete in a rapidly evolving marketplace."
Cassandra Douglass brings a decade of hands-on cannabis banking leadership from within regulated financial institutions, positioning Safe Harbor to scale onboarding, compliance and relationship development with greater consistency and depth as client needs grow more complex. In her role, she will support client onboarding, relationship development and the delivery of compliant cannabis banking solutions.
Prior to joining Safe Harbor, Ms. Douglass served as Vice President and Regional Manager at Herring Bank, where she ran the cannabis banking program, worked directly with cannabis banking clients, and led regional program operations. Throughout her career, she has managed onboarding teams, reviewed documentation for new banking relationships, and ensured alignment with evolving state and federal regulatory requirements. Her experience spans compliance, operations, product development, fraud prevention and risk, with deep expertise in state-specific licensing frameworks.
"I'm honored to join a company that has helped define the gold standard in cannabis banking and financial services," said Cassandra Douglass. "Safe Harbor has a long-standing commitment to compliance, transparency and innovation and I look forward to helping scale that legacy while building meaningful relationships with cannabis businesses across the country."
About Safe Harbor
Safe Harbor is a cannabis-exclusive financial platform delivering smarter banking, lending, payments and business services tailored to how the cannabis industry actually operates. As one of the original pioneers of compliant cannabis banking in the U.S., Safe Harbor has facilitated more than $26 billion in cannabis-related transactions across 41 states and territories. Through its proprietary Cannabis Banking Solutions™ Platform and network of regulated financial institution partners, Safe Harbor empowers cannabis operators to gain clarity, control and confidence in their financial operations. From daily banking to long-term growth, Safe Harbor provides real solutions and personal support — built exclusively for cannabis. Safe Harbor is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by our partner financial institutions. For more information, visit shfinancial.org.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain information contained in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included herein may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to Safe Harbor's ability to satisfy the required conditions to utilize the ELOC, market conditions that may impact Safe Harbor's ability to access the ELOC on acceptable terms or at all, the possibility that the ELOC may not be fully utilized, expected use of proceeds from the ELOC, trends in the cannabis industry, including proposed changes in U.S and state laws, rules, regulations and guidance relating to Safe Harbor's services; Safe Harbor's growth prospects and Safe Harbor's market size; Safe Harbor's projected financial and operational performance, including relative to its competitors and historical performance; success or viability of new product and service offerings Safe Harbor may introduce in the future; the impact volatility in the capital markets, which may adversely affect the price of Safe Harbor's securities; the outcome of any legal proceedings that have been or may be brought by or against Safe Harbor; and other statements regarding Safe Harbor's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "outlook," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would," and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in Safe Harbor's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Safe Harbor undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.
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