100+ Of The Most Important Women In Weed 2020

StaffMarch 6, 202011min025

In honor of International Women’s Day, we are releasing our annual “Most Important Women in Weed” list for 2020. This list includes women in the industry that have collectively moved the industry forward with all of their hard work, continuous dedication and effort.

This year we opened up the list for nominations and received almost a thousand nominees. After consideration of each, we have developed what we feel is one of the most inclusive and carefully curated lists of the most accomplished and impressive women in the cannabis industry.

As we could not name them all, we would like to thank and celebrate all of the women who have dedicated their precious time to the advancement of cannabis globally.

It is because of each one of these ladies that this industry remains in the lead above all others as far as female leadership is concerned.

This list is in no special order. Each one of these women provide a great contribution to the cannabis industry in their own unique and badass way.

Thank you to every one of you for all that you do!

The “List”

Dr. Chanda Macias

Yvonne DeLaRosa Green

Mara Gordon

Rosie Mattio

Shawna McGregor

Lori Ferrara

Gaynell Rogers

Stormy Simon

Trista Okel 

Lori Ajax

Amy Dawn Bourlon-Hilterbran

Kim Rivers

Amanda Soens

Dona Frank

Kat King

Sara Payan

Hannah Daphna

Sandra Castaneda

Erin Gore

Wendy Kornberg

Kristin Nevedal

Wendy Turner

Parisa Rad

Brittany Nicholson

Emily Paxhia

Jessica Billingsley 

Gia Moron

Andrea Brooks

Tahira Rehmatullah

Tracey Mason

Lindy Snyder

Jasmine Rose Gunderson

Shannon Hattan

Adelia Carrillo

Karen Petersen

Wanda James

Barbara Blaser

Ophelia Chong

Amanda Ostrowitz

Pamela Nicole Epstein

Melissa Mentele

Jamie Cooper

Sarah Remesch

Jessie Gill

Erica Daniels

Lizzy Jeff

Lelehnia DuBois

Whitney Beatty

Dr. Michele Ross

Manndie Tingler

Chef Lauren Gockley

Kyra Reed

Jamie Evans

Kristin Jordan

Ellie Siegel 

Sara Brittany Somerset

Linda Marsicano

Heidi Groshelle

Amber Senter

Nique Pichette

Jennifer Price

Molly Peckler 

Bonita Money

Susan Hwang

Judy Yee

Julie Chiarello

Leah Heis

Leslie Andrachuk

Terra Carver

Nancy Whiteman

Luna Stower

Karen Paull and Wendy Robbins

Beth Stavola

Alison Gordon

Penny Green

Sara Gullickson

Dr. Lakisha Jenkins

Pamela Hadfield

Jessica Peters

Dr. Rachel Knox and Dr. Jessica Knox

Tiffany Bowden

Mary Jane Gibson

Michelle Janikian

Dr. Uma Dhanabalan

Taylor Blake

AC Braddock

Kerri Accardi

Heather Sobel

Betty Aldworth

Cathy Jordan

Suzanne Sisley

Nina Parks

Eliza Nova Maroney

Selena Xochitl Martinez

Angelika Penuela-Ruiz

Sarah Mitra Payan

Gretchen Gailey

Nikki Lastreto

Ann Lawrence

Sheena Shiravi

Christina Ianuzzi

Kassandra Frederique

Shannon Buyers

Celia Tapp

Kelly Archer

Katie Field

Randi Sether

Shannon Reed

Katrina Yolen

Ngiste Abebe

Brooke Westlake

Courtney Maltais

Katrina Tso

Anne Don0hoe

Alicia Rose Kelley

Dr. Jacqueline Harding, PhD 

Mary Pryor 

Dr. Uma Dhabalan

Olivia Mannix

Heather DeRose

Libby Cooper

Leslie Hoffman

Yvonne Perez Emerson

 

Again, thank you to all of the women who do so much in our industry day in and day out. Your work does not go unnoticed and is deeply appreciated.

Happy International Women’s Day to all women around the world!

Special shout out to our Green Market Report co-founders Debra Borchardt and Cynthia Salarizadeh on this day!

25 comments

  • Lewis Goldberg

    March 6, 2020 at 11:50 am

    Where’s Anne Donohoe on this list? She’s the co-host and co-creator of The Green Rush…she manages the KCSA cannabis practice, and is widely recognized as one of the most important PR professionals in the space…

    Reply

    • Debra Borchardt

      March 6, 2020 at 4:16 pm

      We love Anne! She was on the 2019 list. We are just trying to make sure some of the women who were missed last year got on this year.

      Reply

      • Sharon Letts

        March 6, 2020 at 7:01 pm

        I’ve been eight years contributing in the cannabis space full time and have never been this list or any other. Who decides this?

        Reply

        • Debra Borchardt

          March 9, 2020 at 8:50 am

          We opened the list to nominations this year and received over 1,000 names. We looked at people who were nominated more than once, plus size of company if that applied. We also tried to be as diverse as possible. We are a small staff and reviewing 1,000 different stories isn’t easy.

          Reply

  • Margarita

    March 6, 2020 at 1:18 pm

    I honor as women in cannabis industry to Emily Kyle Nutritionisit she is amazing!

    Reply

  • Suzi

    March 6, 2020 at 4:22 pm

    Dr. Uma Dhabalan (Dr. Uma Dhanabalan) is on here twice and yet the CEO of Charlotte’s Web is missing from this list.

    Reply

  • Hobart

    March 6, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    Great work on the article! I honor Kelly Keiser, founder of Kelly Green. She is helping re-introduce women to cannabis through education and beautiful accessories. @KellyGreenShop

    Reply

  • Kim Stainton

    March 7, 2020 at 3:58 am

    Where Corrie Yelland? She continues to help thousands of souls giving advise on cannabis oil for health, having cured her own rectal cancer using cannabis x

    Reply

    • Debra Borchardt

      March 9, 2020 at 8:48 am

      We had 1,000 nominations and tried our best to be as inclusive as possible.

      Reply

  • janine Bush

    March 7, 2020 at 4:48 pm

    Dr. Uma is so important she’s on here twice 🙂

    Reply

    • Debra Borchardt

      March 9, 2020 at 8:51 am

      We are run by a very small staff and mistakes happen.

      Reply

  • Johnstone johnson

    March 9, 2020 at 2:41 am

    Forgot Kelly Dunn from Dragonfly Earth Medicine!!!

    Reply

  • Brooke M. Westlake

    March 11, 2020 at 6:32 pm

    I am so honored and humbled to be on this list with other women leaders and entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry! Thank you!

    Reply

  • Zeke Edwards

    March 11, 2020 at 11:32 pm

    Hey there just wanted to point out that Angie’s name is spelt wrong in this article. It is actually spelled Angelika Penuela-Ruiz. Just making sure she gets the credit she deserves. Thanks

    Reply

    • Angelika Penuela-Ruiz

      March 13, 2020 at 2:47 pm

      Appreciate that! I am very much appreciative to be on this list and it is indeed an honor. However its a bit discouraging to see my name is misspelled. My name is Angelika Penuela-Ruiz interesting to get this and not even know its me!

      Reply

      • Debra Borchardt

        March 16, 2020 at 8:34 am

        Hi Angelika,
        We are sorry if we misspelled your name. We are a very small organization and try to do the best we can.
        Debra

        Reply

  • Celia Tapp

    March 14, 2020 at 2:26 pm

    Honored to be included, looking forward to connecting with more of these women and sharing their contributions!

    Reply

  • Kathleen Bryan

    March 19, 2020 at 2:24 pm

    A big shout out to my friend Sandra Castaneda! I’m so happy she made the list. She is a brilliant woman who was not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. Arrested back in the day for doing what millions of people do today legally. Sandra paved the way. She is a tireless activist, grower, educator and pioneer in the field. We love you Sandy!

    Reply

  • MARK P

    March 20, 2020 at 12:21 pm

    Robin Schneider and Lisa Conine have been instrumental in holding our city, state, and federal officials accountable in the State of Michigan and beyond. Their contributions have shaped the movement and industry in Michigan in countless ways!

    Reply

  • James S

    January 18, 2021 at 3:19 am

    It’s amazing to see how many women are leading some of the top CBD brands in the country. Goes to show you when women put their mind to something, they can achieve anything.

    Cheers to all these women paving the way and inspiring countless little girls to go after their dreams.

    Reply

  • Hemp Shop

    April 26, 2022 at 2:29 pm

    It’s such s great news to hear to see fellow women getting such amount of of progress and love!

    Reply

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