MJBizCon highlights women driving diversity in cannabis

From building successful brands and advocating for social equity to shaping policy and advancing cultivation science, women are breaking barriers, driving innovation and championing equity in the cannabis industry.

The stories of Tiana Woodruff, Eden Williams, Aysa Hill and Angelica Sanchez highlight resilience, creativity and a commitment to creating opportunities in an industry that continues to grow and diversify.

As speakers at MJBizCon, they represent the power of inclusion and the importance of diverse voices shaping the future of cannabis.

Tiana Woodruff: Empowering wellness through Queen Mary

As a cannabis delivery driver in Los Angeles in 2016, Tiana Woodruff was laying the foundation for what would become her life’s work.

Back then, she was fascinated by the industry’s potential, but as she navigated the streets, she began to dream bigger.

“I wanted my own delivery business, but I quickly learned it wasn’t that simple – you neded more than just a business license; you needed a cannabis license,” she said.

That realization set Woodruff on a path of persistence and innovation.

From applying for social equity programs to joining a 20-week accelerator cohort, she immersed herself in the business of cannabis.

“No one was giving me money, so I had to be very creative in how I spent and how I branded,” she said.

By 2020, her vision came to life with the launch of Queen Mary, a premium, wellness-focused cannabis brand that will be among the entries at MJBowl, a bicoastal cannabis competition between MJBizCon and social review platform Budist. The competition will unite California and New York to spotlight the Most Valuable Products across five categories.

Queen Mary offers a daily wellness system that includes a morning Boost Tincture, midday Enchanted Gummies and evening Moonstruck Gummies. The fast-acting rosin gummies are vegan.

Woodruff is working on a formulation for a vision improvement gummy using beta carotene.

Beyond her business, Woodruff is a fierce advocate for social equity. As a board member of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, she works to ensure that communities disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition have access to opportunities in the industry.

She also champions funding and support for women of color, emphasizing the need for innovative solutions and investment in underrepresented entrepreneurs.

“Women and women of color are the most innovative in the space, but funding is not easy,” Woodruff said.

“I would advise investors to take a chance. Sometimes there are great things in innovation.”

Eden Williams: Growing opportunity and equity in cannabis

Eden Williams’ journey into the cannabis industry began with a leap of faith and a one-way ticket to Oregon.

In 2018, her brother encouraged her to leave her hometown of Cairo, Illinois, and head west to join the newly legalized cannabis market, where her first job was as a trimmer.

But Williams wasn’t content to stay at a trim table – a role often assigned to women in the industry.

“I kept telling them, ‘I’m a grower. I need to be in cultivation,’” she said.

Her persistence paid off, leading her to roles as a lead cultivator and propagation specialist, where she honed her skills in stabilizing genetics and applying science to cannabis cultivation.

Along the way she learned lean manufacturing methods and the chemistry of plant growth, knowledge she would later bring back to her roots in Illinois.

Today, Williams is the general manager of Vertical People Dispensary in Cairo, a role that completes her seed-to-sale expertise.

Her goal is to open her own vertically integrated cannabis business in the region she calls home, creating jobs and opportunities in a community that was hit hard by the war on drugs, economic challenges and systemic racism.

“The industry has been great to me. I’ve been on a path for the last 10 years to accomplish this goal, and I’m doing it. Even the dispensary part – I gained so much knowledge as far as consumer trends in this retail experience. I think it was a good decision as far as rounding out my experience.”

Williams is committed to leveraging her experience to bring more people of color into the industry. She emphasizes the importance of mentorship and training in all positions and encourages experienced women to help others.

Her advice to women of color looking to break into the industry is to keep pushing.

“Make yourself heard and get your education,” she said. “If you have the piece of paper, they can’t say you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Asya Hill: Advocating for equity and authenticity in cannabis

Asya Hill’s personal connection to the cannabis plant as a medical marijuana patient in Illinois launched her journey in the industry.

It was 2018, and she was working as an operations manager for a Canadian company, overseeing its Midwest division.

But when the pandemic hit, her company laid off most of its workforce, including Hill.

“I had to start over,” she said. “I asked myself, ‘What can I do entry-level and work my way up?’”

That question led her to a budtending role and a dispensary before she transitioned to Curaleaf’s corporate social responsibility department. There, she focused on community engagement and equity initiatives, eventually moving into a management role.

But when Curaleaf dissolved its CSR department, Hill found herself at a crossroads. She turned to Illinois Women in Cannabis, an organization she had joined early in her career. After becoming a member, she rose through the ranks, joining the board of directors in 2023 and stepping into the role of executive director the following year.

Hill’s leadership at IWC reflects her commitment to equity and inclusion in the cannabis industry. She acknowledges that while the industry made significant strides promoting social equity in 2020 and 2021, those efforts have waned.

“We don’t need to rely on large companies to take those initiatives,” Hill said. Consumers are using their dollars to make political statements, and that’s where we can drive change.”

For Hill, representation is key.

She advocates for authentic branding that reflects diverse voices and says inclusivity in leadership and marketing resonates with all consumer groups.

“Women are the largest cannabis-consuming group, yet we’re underrepresented in brand presence and product development,” Hill said.

Angelica Sanchez: Fostering collaboration in cannabis

In 2016, Angelica Sanchez was just another customer at her local Perfect Union cannabis dispensary when a casual conversation turned into a job offer.

The opportunity was a step up from her post-high school hotel job, offering $15 an hour – $3 more than the minimum wage at the time – plus medical and dental benefits. She took the leap, starting as a budtender.

Today, at 32, Sanchez is the vice president of government affairs and compliance at MWG Holdings Group, the parent company of Perfect Union.

Under her guidance, MWG Holdings has grown from a single retail store into a multistate operator with 10 retail locations and licenses for cultivation and distribution in California, Rhode Island and New Mexico. Sanchez notes the company is still growing slowly, while many other companies are retracting.

As a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry, Sanchez has faced her share of challenges.

“It’s harder for women because people underestimate us,” she said.

She often finds that during meetings or inspections, attendees will instinctively look to her male colleagues for leadership. Her supportive male colleagues will say, “No, she’s the one you need to talk to.”

In her current role, which she’s been in since 2022, Sanchez works with legislative bodies to shape cannabis policy. She advocates for a regulatory environment that supports business growth while protecting public health.

One recent success was the industry’s collaborative effort to fight a proposed cannabis excise tax increase.

“We don’t usually collaborate with other retailers because they’re the competition,” she said.

But faced with a shared threat, they united, and their collective action resulted in the tax rate reverting to its previous level.

“When we work together, we can make an impact and change things,” she said.

Margaret Jackson can be reached at margaret.jackson@mjbizdaily.com.