On September 27th, I had the pleasure of joining the Latinas in Cannabis 3rd Annual Summit to celebrate the amazing Latinas in our industry, during Hispanic Heritage Month. Susie Plascencia is a powerhouse in cannabis, owning multiple businesses and traveling the world speaking at top conferences. Seeing her host this event was inspiring, and I’m still buzzing from the vibes.
I arrived at the event when it started, and walking in and seeing the gorgeous stage, I knew the day would hold a lot for attendees. But what I didn’t imagine (though Susie said it would happen) was the emotion, connection, and beautiful way that women showed up and shared themselves so fully.
The day kicked off with Amorinda Martinez leading an intention setting and bringing women up to the stage to share their goals for the event and what they would like to receive from other attendees. It was unscripted, heartfelt, and it was obvious that this is what we all need right now. We need to come together, lift each other up, and share ways that we can be better. And that’s what we did.
There were four panels and three workshops, which covered topics including: education, branding and sales, growing cannabis, being a cannamom, financial advice, and even healing your inner niña. The conversations were impactful. Women in attendance were engaged and learned from the diverse group of Latinas who shared themselves on that stunning stage.
There were also vendors lining the perimeter who were lovely to engage with and had crafts, shared agua fresca, and gave us cute T-shirts, such as the Latinas in Cannabis shirt by CBX, which I’m wearing as I write this. Along with Jetty, Kanha, and THC Design, a lot of amazing brands participated in the day.
The gift bags were lit and raffle prizes were abundant, making women feel spoiled on top of supported. It was truly a special space that Susie created, and I feel lucky that I got to take part and lift up some of my favorite Latinas in the industry.
Kristi Vaneé Kem from Dope CFO Certified Advisors and Freedom Grow moderated a panel and also highlighted one of Freedom Grow’s prisoners, Pedro Moreno. She shared his story and how he’s serving a life sentence for a nonviolent cannabis offense. Kristi asked attendees to sign the campaign for his clemency and share it on social media. You can sign the petition here.
The Latinas in Cannabis 3rd Annual Summit was a beautiful celebration and a wonderful way to spend a Saturday. It was another example of how women in the cannabis industry lift each other up, and I’m grateful I was able to participate in an event that was focused on Latinas, a very important population, especially in cannabis.
Much appreciation to all the people who shared their energy at the event, especially Susie for hosting!
Dina has spent most of her career in pharmaceuticals and biotech. Most of that was an 11-year career at Vertex Pharmaceuticals where she led Compound Management teams. This role required achieving excellence in managing an inventory of compounds, implementing quality-controlled processes, and developing software in a highly regulated environment.
After 15 years in the biotech space, Dina decided to take her knowledge and expertise and apply it to the rapidly expanding cannabis industry to ensure dispensaries maintain the high level of quality required to facilitate their success in the industry. Over the past few years, she has helped numerous dispensaries transition to new software and increase the efficiency of their operations. In addition, Dina wrote a successful dispensary license application in Illinois. More recently, she has worked with dispensaries on various data projects including applying cannabis tax amounts in California based on the amount of cannabis a product contains.
Dina is incredibly passionate about cannabis and social equity believing it is critical to the cannabis industry and therefore it is something she prioritizes in business.
Find more about Dina and her work at Beard Bros Pharms here.
