FROM THE FOUNDER: Gratitude On International Women’s Day

On International Women’s Day, I wanted to briefly take a moment to express deep gratitude to the all-female team that carried us through the first year of the pandemic and handled an absolute roller coaster of a work experience with skill, grace and just the right amount of sass.

Thanks to Kathy, Erin, Kelly, Christina, Karen and Caitlyn for all your hard work and contributions to Heady Vermont.  You are all rock stars!

Aside from our former core team, we received (and continue to receive!) a tremendous amount of help and talent from a dedicated and extended community of writers, volunteers, collaborators and partners, many of whom are women.

I chatted briefly yesterday with Jennifer Whetzel. After years of work she recently launched the Women in Cannabis Study, which I first started talking to her about more than two years ago. Look out for a Q+A soon!

As I read through it, it reminded me of the urgent need here in Vermont to instill a support system early in the licensing process to ensure that another two years from now, those who need the extra support have been able to use it to get a boost into the industry.

We need more than technical support in the form of actual grants and low-cost loans that are widely available for social equity and economic empowerment applicants. And we need it soon. We need a cannabis industry that is built to support the kinds of small growers, producers and retailers that already make up the unique Vermont landscape. And most importantly, we need to support each other while we build that industry.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to take a small part in this great adventure. As we move into the next phase of things here at Heady and in Vermont, I’m looking forward to continuing to bring talented humans into our ever-expanding circle. As I’ve said often, we are the culmination of our people – so thanks for keeping it Heady!

We’ve been getting a few of the old crew back together for the Headies Cup on April 16… Look out for some familiar faces soon. Endless gratitude to ALL of the powerful women in our lives.

Warmly,

Monica