Women's Cannabis Chamber of Commerce Archives -

Dorothy Kolb Women's Cannabis Chamber of Commerce

January 20, 2024Cannabis accounting, Cannabis Business Courses

Dorothy Kolb Fractional CFO

Dorothy Kolb Fractional CFO combines her decades-long career leading finance, accounting, and operations for Fortune 500 companies with her NYS CPA and certification with the National Association of Cannabis Accountants & Tax Professionals to serve the cannabis industry. She is a member of Women’s Cannabis Chamber of Commerce and is one of hosts of By the Numbers: Q&A with Certified Cannabis Accountants. She is one of the Cannabis Accounting for Accountants facilitators. Dorothy Kolb is on a mission to transform what the cannabis industry looks like for women. With deep knowledge of how the “big guys” grow and maintain financial success, and as a serial entrepreneur advising small businesses since 2017, Dorothy translates business and finance strategy effectively – and with results. Using her expansive network, she helps her clients get in front of the right people and leverage the right resources to grow their businesses with confidence. Dorothy is the founder and CEO of Planet Earth CFO Advisory

Angelita Green Women's Cannabis Chamber of Commerce

January 20, 2024January 20, 2024Cannabis accounting, Cannabis Business Courses

Angelita Green EA

Angelita Green, EA has worked with cannabis clients for over 7 years from seed to sale. She is a founding member of National Association of Cannabis Accountants where she received her Cannabis Certification and is also the Southeast Committee Leader. Angelita is also part of the DOPE CFO VIP network which brings a network of world class service to her clients. She has been an expert speaker at several events and has sponsored several social equity clients helping them get traction in this industry. She is on the NCIA committee for Hemp and was on the DEIC committee. Angelita is a member of WCCC and is one of hosts of By the Numbers: Q&A with Certified Cannabis Accountants. Angelita Green is one of the Cannabis Accounting for Accountants facilitators. Her constant up to date knowledge in this industry and experience has given several entrepreneurs the compliance and tax strategies needed to optimize profitability. Angelita is the founder and CEO of New Leaf EA Corporation.

June 3, 2023January 20, 2024Women Who Inspire

Meaka Brown – Advocate

Meaka Brown recently received a five year appointment to the Massachusetts Cannabis Social Equity Fund Advisory Board. Her cannabis industry resume includes cannabis banking regulatory specialist, Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission.

Meaka did not appear to be on a career path that would lead her to becoming the first WOC to manage a dispensary in Massachusetts. She was a City of Boston Constable for eleven years.

It was during this time that her entrepreneurial spirit led to developing body care products, lotions, bath scrubs and tea blends. When her grandmother had multiple knee surgeries, Meaka wanted to create a product to help reduce her pain.

In 2015 her sister in-law passed from Cervical Cancer, her medical card arrived on the morning she passed away.

“ I was deeply disturbed by this fact and became activated from there to learn more about cannabis and the industry and the laws that surrounded it. I started to research and eventually began to study herbal medicine with Karen Rose of Sacred Vibes, Brooklyn NY and Tammi Sweet of Heartstone Center for Earth Essentials, Ithaca, NY. I learned the principles of Herbal medicine with Karen and Cannabis Science and Medicine from Tammi.”

The love of the plant and her passion for healing has inspired her to relaunch her Babes Handmade Brand incorporating CBD and THC into the Babes Handmade Body Care and Wellness Line.

Meaka’s love of the plant and passion for healing has evolved into healing communities. She is working on a cannabis curriculum specifically designed for ADI communities that aims to educate, uplift and restore the people of those communities.

She is also working on a Social Equity Webinar to help banks understand why banking the underserved in the industry is vital and necessary to create a truly diverse cannabis space.

And, she is working on a project to bring more Minority Depository Institutions in the Cannabis Banking Space.

“If we can introduce them to the ways in which they can safely participate in the industry, then they can begin to have a meaningful impact on the cannabis businesses in their neighborhood and begin to generate more wealth in their communities. Why should BIPOC led cannabis businesses have to leave their communities to bank in other towns and in some cases other states in order to access services.”

Meaka Brown is a woman paving the path and opening doors for women in the cannabis industry. She is setting the standard for women in cannabis in Massachusetts.

Meaka Brown is a Woman Cultivating Success.

May 30, 2023January 20, 2024Women Who Inspire

Alexis Berends Visionary Officer

Alexis Berends job title is Chief Visionary Officer at Union Chill Cannabis Company llc. In Lambertville, NJ. The title fits her.

Alexis has lived in Lambertville, NJ, (Nishowmensa, Lenapehoking) most of her life. At best calculation, her son is the seventh generation to call her beloved river city home. Hailing from a line of activists, musicians, and artists, she deeply believes in inclusivity and change, and that the fledgling NJ cannabis industry can be utilized as a catalyst to shape our collective future.

After receiving a Bachelors of Honors in Globalization, Development and Human Rights from Arcadia University in 2009, Alexis continued on to pursue her Masters in International Peace & Conflict Resolution. Her studies brought her to the Middle East where she studied the plight of the Palestinian people in the context of environmental justice. Her research was focused on water access and indigenous rights through the lens of international law. After a series of divine interventions – including a vision quest with an AWOL Israeli soldier and a kidnapping in revolutionary Egypt – her life path was forever altered.

Upon returning to the United States, Alexis promptly moved to St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. During her time in the USVI, Alexis began to immerse herself in the Rastafarian culture and their deep relationship with cannabis. After leaving the USVI, Alexis found her way to Humboldt County, California where she was introduced to the cultivation side of cannabis. Not dissimilar to the USVI, in California Alexis gained an intimate glimpse into the lives of many of our Native American brothers & sisters who have been so negatively impacted by the war on drugs and industries at large.

It is Alexis’ goal to create a cannabis industry that honors the First Nations Peoples of the world and a shared commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, as well as one that offers sincere equity to the communities most impacted by the War on Drugs.

Alexis Berends is also a Divemaster, Master Shark Diver, Yoga Teacher, and Reiki Master. She enjoys anything related to vampires, the ocean, and the spacetime continuum. Of her revolving titles at Union Chill Cannabis, Chief Visionary Officer seems to best encompass her passions and vision. She deeply believes in the medicine of cannabis, especially in treating PTSD in conjunction with mindfulness and intention.

March 23, 2023May 30, 2023Women Owned Cannabis Businesses

Suzan Nickelson History Maker

Suzan Nickelson made history when she was awarded a New Jersey medicinal dispensary license in the NJ RFP 2019 round. Then she made news when Holistic Solutions opened on February 10th, 2023, in Waterford Township N.J.

Holistic Solutions is a 4,000 square foot dispensary with 11 POS stations for seamless purchasing, a private consultation room for discussions with onsite medical professionals, and a drive-thru window. Holistic Solutions provides compassionate care and education to patients enrolled in New Jersey’s Medicinal Cannabis Program.

Suzan Nickelson has curated an assortment of THC and CBD products, including flower, pre-rolls, edibles, tinctures, vaporizers, concentrates, ingestible, topicals, accessories, its own strain called “Girlie” after Suzan’s mother, Elaine Campbell-Cohen.

Holistic Solutions stocks its shelves with products from independent entrepreneurs such as Miss Grass cannabis, artisan jewelry from Jamaican designer Kristie Stephenson, and women and BIPOC-owned cannabis brands.

“When you walk in, you’ll see art, culture—you’ll see some great cannabis and you’ll feel welcome,” Suzan said. “Cannabis teaches that out of many people we are one. We believe cannabis is a universal incubator. It’s a connector and we’re looking to connect.”

Holistic Solutions opened with 10 employees including women, minorities, veterans, and others who are normally underrepresented in the workforce. Suzan’s business plans include keeping about a third of its payroll for people living in the immediate area. She understands the value of investing in the community and in people.

Suzan started developing Holistic Solutions five years ago while working full time and raising three children as a single mother. She had been working in the cannabis market for over twenty years. And is the CEO of Ital Daughters LLC, a cannabis and hemp consulting company that helps minorities, women, and veterans understand the compliance and regulatory aspects of the industry.

“Like the women who raised me, I believe cannabis is a plant of reverence and spirituality that has been given to people to heal – however intentional stigmatization led to what we went through in the War on Drugs that disproportionately hurt entire communities of Black and brown people. This is what fueled me to work relentlessly to open the doors of Holistic Solutions,” stated Suzan Nickelson. “The women in my family passed down generational knowledge of working with various herbs for healing and spirituality to me, and I look forward to using that knowledge to run my own cannabis business so others can understand just how powerful this plant can be in a pursuit of wellness and healing.”

“I used my own seed money and started my company on my iPhone 6,” Nickelson told MarketWatch. “We felt that plant-based medicine was an option that many people should have, so we pursued that.”

Suzan, attributes Marissa Edmonds, chairwoman of New Jersey-based optical components maker Edmund Optics Inc. with helping to open doors for her in the business community.

Holistic Solutions also received backing from The Collective. The Collective was launched in April 2022, by Patrick Jonsson, a former Northeast Regional President for Curaleaf.

Suzan has done more than opening a dispensary; she is dispelling the myths and stigma around cannabis and paving the way for women entrepreneurs. She is honoring her rich Jamaican heritage and the generations of women herbalists in her family. Suzan Nickelson has just begun her journey into the history of women of color trailblazers in the cannabis industry.

Destiny Simon

Across the country there are women working at the local and state level to:

Provide education to help medical marijuana patients make informed decisions.
Create a community where women can come together to share their experiences.
Build support systems for caregivers and patients.
Offer business resources and mentoring.
Advance local and national legislation.

Destiny Simon is one of those women. She is a founder of Canna Events by Leo.

“Canna Events was founded in 2020 due to the overwhelming request from clients, organizations, and cannabis supporters to help be connected with industry resources. Now we have a team dedicated solely to meeting those needs while planning incredible events.

When we first got involved with the cannabis industry we immediately noticed the amount of vultures & frauds trying to come into the industry is absolutely insane! We work to not just serve the cannabis industry but to protect the industry with these three steps;

Elevating Educating Empowering.”

Launching an event company during a pandemic would appear to be a difficult task. Destiny, (Amanda and Jess) have produced innovative and interesting virtual events. Canna Events by Leo is energizing and educating the cannabis community in Kansas City.

Destiny is a masterful organizer. She is the chapter founder and leader of Tokeativity Kansas City. Tokeativity is The Global Feminist Community for Active Cannabis Culture. She is the Women+Weed founding Kansas City leader. Women+Weed mission is to connect women, grow a strong healthy cannabis community by sharing resources for women and their families.

Destiny is the treasurer for Canna Matriarchs of Mo., a non-profit organization supporting mothers across the midwest.

2020 has been Destiny’s year of fully committing to the cannabis community and industry and to having a positive impact. Her company, Leo Accounting, helps cannabis companies stay in compliance.

I have over a decade of experience in the accounting field, working in positions ranging from basic data entry up to auditing & reconciling multi-million dollar corporate accounts. This has been a priceless opportunity to gain a vast knowledge of not only how to implement and complete day to day tasks, but also to see the effects of those tasks on a corporate level!

I have taken all my knowledge, experience, passion for accounting, and unquenchable thirst for knowledge and focused it on the Cannabis Industry! I am passionate about the cannabis movement as I have seen first hand the incredible benefits of medicinal usage. I am not only an expert of cannabis accounting services but also a supporter of this revolutionary movement in the US today.

Destiny Simon does more than bring women together – she inspires women. She is a Woman Cultivating Success

February 18, 2020September 13, 2020Women Who Inspire

Addison Morris

The path to business success is paved with our business failures. It is these failures that teaches us the steps to building a successful business. Entering into business in the cannabis-cbd-hemp marketplace leaves little room for mistakes.