Episodes

  • Dr. Chanda Macias: Struggle, Sacrifice, and Passion for the People

    Dr. Chanda Macias: Struggle, Sacrifice, and Passion for the People
    Jul 29 2022
    Gia picked a very special guest this week, her canna-sister and the CEO and Chairwoman of Women Grow, Dr. Chanda Macais. Chanda is also the CEO of National Holistic Healing Center in Washington DC, CEO of Ilera Holistic Healthcare, and is also the first African American woman in the US to receive a medical dispensary. As a thought leader and one of the most influential people in the cannaspace, Dr. Chanda talks about her journey getting into cannabis and seeing first hand both the health benefits it provided and the challenges getting it to the people that needed it most. She shares her deep passion for patient advocacy and education and her intentional practice of reflecting a diverse atmosphere in every aspect of her business. Dr. Chanda wraps up the episode talking about the honor of being named Queen Zulu in 2020 and the work she is doing at the White House to make lasting change and to hold our leaders accountable for their promises.
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Maureen McNamara: Cannabis Compliance, Proper Training, and Sparkly Sneakers

    Maureen McNamara: Cannabis Compliance, Proper Training, and Sparkly Sneakers
    Jul 22 2022
    Gia welcomes talented growth leader Maureen McNamara, CEO of Cannabis Trainers. As a trainer, facilitator and coach, Maurreen has helped over 10,000 employees, managers, and owners in their national certification programs and has led hundreds of workshops helping entrepreneurs create more business success and joy in their lives. Maureen talks about coming up in the hospitality industry and what she learned from working within restaurants and hotels that she still carries with her today. She and Gia talk about the importance of proper education and training to empower your team, which will in turn help the whole organization to succeed with more speed. She explains more about the food safety and cannabis compliance programs that Cannabis Trainers offers, along with the business development side for executives as well.
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 3 mins
  • What True Health Equity Looks Like with Jacquie Cohen Roth

    What True Health Equity Looks Like with Jacquie Cohen Roth
    Jul 1 2022
    Gia welcomes Jacquie Cohen Roth, MS, Medical Cannabis Expert and Founder & CEO of CannabizMD, a B2B medical cannabis platform committed to delivering quality care to patients. Jacquie shares her valuable insight on the importance of mental health awareness, and how we can better bring education and information to medical physicians and stakeholders. She talks about the impact that her sister's battle with breast cancer had on her, and how cannabis is not a one size fits all approach. Jacquie is also the founder of Tea Pad, a cannabis industry networking group with a mission to break down barriers to entry in cannabis via education.
    Show more Show less
    50 mins
  • The Future of Cannabis Recruiting with Karson Humiston

    The Future of Cannabis Recruiting with Karson Humiston
    Jun 24 2022
    Gia kicks off the episode announcing her new love of being a good house plant mother and then welcomes Karson Humiston, the CEO of Vangst, the cannabis industry’s premier resource for professional talent matching. Karson talks about why she saw a need for better and more inclusive recruiting and placement in cannabis and predicts a few future trends for workers in the cannabis industry. Karson also gives an insider perspective on what companies are looking for in potential hires and how people looking to get into the industry can gain knowledge and have a competitive edge.
    Show more Show less
    38 mins
  • Bringing Responsibility To Cannabis Culture: Chirali Patel of Blaze Responsibly

    Bringing Responsibility To Cannabis Culture: Chirali Patel of Blaze Responsibly
    Jun 17 2022
    Gia is joined this week by Chirali Patel, Attorney, Advocate, and Founder of Blaze Responsibly. Chirali is an attorney in New Jersey and executive board member of the New York State Board Association Cannabis Law Committee. She shares her story of starting out as a government attorney and talks about what made her see the need for better representation in cannabis-related law. Chirali talks about finding a team that is aligned with your overall vision, the importance of leaders being able to work with different personality types, and how Blaze is providing free education and information about all things cannabis. Chirali talks about what responsible cannabis culture looks like to her, and why she wants to make it a tagline for the industry. At the end of the episode, Gia reads a moving piece about staying consistent and doing your due diligence in everything you do.
    Show more Show less
    29 mins
  • Making Space for A New Breed of Farmers and Why Timing Is Everything: Maria Perry

    Making Space for A New Breed of Farmers and Why Timing Is Everything: Maria Perry
    Jun 10 2022
    Gia welcomes Maria Perry, CEO, and founder of Miss Perry farms, a thriving agricultural operation in upstate New York focused on growing USDA organic hemp and greenhouse-grown CBD and CBG hemp flower. Maria comes from a long line of family farmers, and she discusses why she wanted to include as much family tradition as possible and how she got her family to open up to the idea of selling hemp. Maria reflects on embracing change, and how she shifted both her personal mindset and business growth plan over the recent years, after learning from life’s challenging moments. Maria also talks about her line of apparel and jewelry, where she promotes the cannabis lifestyle in her unique niche. At the end of the episode, Gia reads a passage from Rewriting Your Mental Script by Khadijah Adams.
    Show more Show less
    33 mins
  • Finding Community and Forging Your Own Path in Journalism: Chloe Aiello and Mona Zhang

    Finding Community and Forging Your Own Path in Journalism: Chloe Aiello and Mona Zhang
    Jun 3 2022

    Chloe Aiello 

    Mona Zhang 

    The Alchemist
    Show more Show less
    38 mins
  • Believing In Yourself and Calling on Your Connection: Nhi Kha and Cimone Casson

    Believing In Yourself and Calling on Your Connection: Nhi Kha and Cimone Casson
    May 27 2022

    Sativa Remedy 

    Cannas Capital 
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 10 mins