Wanda James Archives - Green Market Report

StaffMarch 6, 2020
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11min025

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!


William SumnerNovember 27, 2018
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6min00

During the massive gathering of cannabis industry leaders at Marijuana Business Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, the leading women came together to honor the achievements of their peers. The 2nd Annual Industry Power Women Awards, the ceremony aimed to recognize the accomplishments of women in the cannabis industry; from entrepreneurs and investors to influencers and advocates, commenced.

The award ceremony was hosted by the group Industry Power Women (IPW) and made possible with generous sponsors that included Dr. Robb Farms, High Times Holding Company, Organa Brands, Regs Technology (Cannaregs), Skunk Factory, Mood33, Passport Cannabis, The GoldQ, CH3 Ventures, Greenhouse Ventures, Saka Wines and Pink Haze.

IPW was founded in 2017 and is an organization established to help advance female businesswomen in cannabis. IPW aims to elevate and empower female entrepreneurship within the cannabis industry by creating a support network of like-minded individuals.

Attending the invite-only ceremony was an assortment of women from across the industry and all walks of life. These women include founders, CEOs, C-suite executives, trade organization leaders and community organizers.

Green Market Report co-founder and CEO, Debra Borchardt, and managing partner of KCSA Strategic Communications as well as the founder of AxisWire, Cynthia Salarizadeh acted as hostesses for the event. The first to take home an award was Kristin Hope for the Rising Star Award. At just 15 years old, Hope became the first person to launch a pharmaceutical grade hemp beauty line, HOOP, and was most recently nominated for the Bell scholarship.

The next award recipient was Gaynell Rogers, who won Influencer of the Year. As one of the most respected voices in public relations, Rogers has worked with some of the best and brightest in the cannabis industry; including Harborside Health’s Co-Founder Steve DeAngelo.

Outside of the cannabis industry, Rogers is also known for her work as the senior publicist for Lucasfilm and the Head of Feature Film Publicity at Pixar for the first “Incredibles” and “Cars.”

For her outstanding work as a cannabis advocate, Amy T. Margolis was granted the 2018 Leadership Award. Margolis is the founder of the Oregon Cannabis Association, which is one of the largest trade organizations in the cannabis industry.

Most recently, Margolis was also named by Cannabis Business Executive (CBE) as one of the 2017’s 100 Most Powerful Political People in Cannabis and one of the 50 Most Important Women in Cannabis in both 2016 and 2017.

Taking the prize for Advocate of the Year was Wanda James. As an outspoken political voice and serial entrepreneur, James has been honored by High Times Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Cannabis and was also named as one of the 50 Most Important Women in the Cannabis Industry by CBE.

Emily Paxhia, co-founder and Managing Partner of Poseidon Asset Management, was named IPW’s Investor of the Year. Throughout her career, Paxhia has reviewed thousands of cannabis companies and has always taken the time to uplift promising female entrepreneurs by helping them shape their pitch preparations, go-to-market strategies/ product launches, and advised on day-to-day business operations.

Taking the Industry Power Women top honor of 2018 Business Woman of the Year was Jessica Billingsley. Billingsley is the Co-Founder and CEO of MJ Freeway Business Solutions; a technology company that provides software solutions to cannabis firms, as well as small-business, consulting services and application license support. In addition to her entrepreneurial accomplishments, Billingsley has also been named to Fortune Magazine’s list of Top 10 Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs.

Following the ceremony, many of the attendees would later recount with exuberance how empowered the event made them feel. For many, this event stood out as one of the few places where they could be with other women and talk about their trade. In an industry that continues to be dominated by men, that matters; and it only serves to highlight the continued relevance, and need, for ceremonies like the Industry Power Women Awards.

 


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