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Kellie Rivera is senior counsel at Columbia Care, one of New York’s Registered Organizations (ROs). In the newest entry of “NY’s women in cannabis,” Rivera talks about imposter syndrome, gender diversity at senior levels, and barriers to entering the cannabis industry as a woman.
Women are vastly underrepresented in cannabis, and not just in New York. From 2019 to 2022, executive-level females have seen their industry wide status drop from 37% to 23%. Yet the MRTA makes things very clear: women-owned businesses are a key component of the state’s social and economic equity plan.
NY Cannabis Insider is seeking to elevate women in cannabis through a hyper-focus on female story sourcing and balanced representation in articles.
This series will last for as long as submissions come in.
Why did you launch your career in the cannabis industry? Were there any women who inspired you to do so? How did you do it?
In my late 20s, I became a medical cannabis patient in an effort to find a long-term solution for my chronic neuropathic pain from a spinal injury and subsequent spinal surgeries. For more than 10 years prior to becoming a medical cannabis patient, I was prescribed countless pharmaceutical pain medications, corticosteroids, and had many lumbar epidural steroid injections. Now with medical cannabis, I have not consumed any opioids in several years and have not had to endure any spinal injections in over a year – something that I am very proud of and thankful for.
While medical cannabis is one of many holistic health and self-care practices that I have implemented in my life, it has become an essential part of my chronic pain treatment, so I am personally passionate about the medical and wellness benefits of cannabis and other plant medicines.
With this perspective, I wanted to launch my career in the cannabis industry because it is one of few emerging industries where I can actually make an impact helping others gain access to their choice of medicine. In March 2021, I left my in-house counsel role at an international telecom company to join Columbia Care, one of NY’s 10 operational Registered Organizations, and have been in this role since.
While no specific women inspired me to enter the cannabis industry, many women have inspired me to remain in this industry. Those women include Ngiste Abebe (Columbia Care), Tatiana Calvo (Columbia Care), Katie Neer (Of Counsel, Dickinson & Avella, PLLC) , Nikki Lawley (Nikki & the Plant), Kim Rivers (CEO, Trulieve) and many more. There is always room at the table for more women in this industry.
What do you think is the most significant barrier to women leadership? Are the barriers different in cannabis than any other industry?
The stigma against cannabis in general, the risks associated with federal illegality, and volatility of the industry are deterrents that impact the entrance of more women in the industry, but this is slowly changing and more women are entering in leadership positions.
For female entrepreneurs, one of the barriers that are different in the cannabis industry is the lack of access to capital under the current 280E model and the inability to obtain commercially reasonable loans. Additionally, women are often primary caregivers and consequently are more risk averse due to the responsibilities of caregiving. Cannabis is an unpredictable industry with a very fast speed of play and one that requires you to always “be on,” so that is not always attractive to those seeking career stability.
Why do you think women are so underrepresented in leadership roles in cannabis?
Burnout and lack of opportunity.
What are some ways in which companies can support gender diversity at senior levels?
I think one of the significant ways that companies can work towards gender diversity at senior levels is through a major shift to policies on paid parental leave and caregiving. In my personal opinion, until there is more gender diversity in caregiving across the United States, gender diversity at senior levels of companies will be limited.
One way this can be changed is through companies encouraging and paying for employees of all genders to take parental or family leave when needed. Additionally, I would encourage companies to facilitate mentor-mentee relationships among the highest-performing women within all levels of the organization and those that have expressed interest in advancement within the company. I encourage women in leadership roles to be transparent and empower those seeking to grow. I have personally benefited from this type of relationship with Tatiana Calvo, SVP at Columbia Care. Tatiana is an example of a great leader who became a trusted mentor of mine. She has empowered me in my current role and I carry that with me through making my best efforts to empower other women in the industry.
Shout out your other favorite women-owned or women-led businesses in the industry.
Some women-owned and/or led businesses I’d like to shout out are Latinas Grow, ButACake led by founder Matha Figaro, Cannaclusive and Sheba Baby both founded by Mary Pryor, TONIC led by founder Brittany Carbone, and LOCKGREEN led by founder Sarah Kiah Morton. Also, I am looking forward to watching the International Cannabis Bar Association prosper under the leadership of its newly appointed Executive Director Shahiedah Shabazz.
Who/what are your favorite tools and resources in the industry?
Frankly, state regulations are the best resource for supporting a cannabis company. For a company to succeed in such a highly regulated industry, a thorough understanding of regulations is critical. Other tools and resources include NY Cannabis Insider; MJBiz; Marijuana Moment; Marathon Strategies; NY Medical Cannabis Industry Association; Mike McQueeny, Partner at Foley Hoag; Pat Zlogar, Director of Government Relations for the Roffe Group of Robinson & Cole.
I also listen to and learn from several cannabis industry-focused podcasts including The Cannabis Investing Podcast, High Rise Podcast, Cannabis Legalization News Podcast, The Canna Mom Show, and Mama Chill Club. While not cannabis-industry specific, I have learned a lot of the importance of daring leadership, how to interrupt bias and empower those around me from Kori Carew who is an Inclusion Strategist, DEI keynote speaker and former partner at AmLaw 100 law firms.
What advice would you give your 25-year-old self? What advice would you give to the next generation of women leaders?
I would encourage both my 25-year-old self and the next generation of women leaders to build courage in their convictions, which starts with listening to those who have paved the way for them.
The quote, “Fight for what you care about, but do it in a way that leads others to join you,” by Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a quote that I carry with me, live by, and wish I implemented at a younger age.
Also, I would address how imposter syndrome is real and impacts a plethora of women leaders, but it can be overcome with intention, courage and hard work. I learned this largely from publications by Brene Brown.
Finally, I encourage young attorneys to become involved in bar associations, whether they be state bars or industry-specific bar associations. I personally have benefitted from being involved with the New York State Bar Association Cannabis Law Section and the International Cannabis Bar Association.
Is there anything we left out that you’d like to add?
While there is a lot of anti-MSO sentiment in the cannabis industry, I think it is important to note that many MSOs are now run by individuals who are very passionate about the medicinal benefits of the cannabis plant and helping others access their choice of medicine.
I encourage those with backgrounds in international law and international affairs, like myself, to enter into this industry because of how translative requisite skills are. In my current role supporting Columbia Care’s operations in eight different eastern US markets paired with the Commerce Clause, I often feel like I work for a domestic, multinational corporation.
To close, I firmly believe that cannabis is not a “gateway drug” like commonly portrayed, but rather cannabis is a gateway to sobriety for those consuming narcotics or other pharmaceutical pain medications.
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellierivera/; twitter: @kellierivera_