Marking a new era of industry leadership with neon powersuits and new power structures
The day after an electric Blunt Brunch Nationals event at MJBizCon last December, co-founders Adelia Fakhri (formerly Carrillo) and Parisa Mansouri-Rad celebrated their success in style—with glam, neon, and most importantly, with their community. Part of what sets Adelia and Parisa apart from other industry leaders is their insistence on collaboration over competition. They’re not trying to climb to the top alone, and their Bright Women, Bold Futures photo series shows how much fun it can be to lift each other up along the way.
Instead of waiting for seats at the table, Adelia and Parisa built their own. Five years ago, Adelia and Parisa started Blunt Brunch with a mission to connect and uplift women in the cannabis industry through shared experiences, authentic conversations, and vibrant community events. Since then, Blunt Brunch’s gatherings have brought together more than 15,000 women and allies, facilitating countless connections, collaborations, and new friendships.
Blunt Brunch brings together brilliant female leaders from across the country, and last winter, they wanted to commemorate that by highlighting the different entrepreneurs, policymakers, educators, and advocates who are shaping the industry every day. Bright Women, Bold Futures brings together a powerful group of women with a wide range of expertise, experiences, and skill sets.
“We wanted the photoshoot to reflect the diversity of leadership that exists across the cannabis industry,” Parisa says. “These women came from different sectors, companies, roles, backgrounds, and areas of expertise, and that was intentional. Some are founders and executives, while others are building careers and influence across areas like marketing, operations, finance, advocacy, media, retail, and beyond… For us, that’s always more powerful than highlighting one type of leader or one corner of cannabis. The future of this industry is being shaped by women in so many different capacities, and we wanted the photoshoot to visually represent that.”
Two of the women featured are Jade Stone CEO Katie Motta and Pinks founder Ali Bianco, who have previously been featured in the Women in Cannabis column, along with Adelia and Parisa. “When you intentionally put accomplished women in the same room and create an environment that isn’t overly transactional, relationships happen naturally,” Parisa said of Blunt Brunch Nationals and this photoshoot in particular. “Women who may have known of one another finally had the opportunity to actually meet. Existing relationships became stronger, new introductions happened, and conversations opened doors that may not have happened otherwise.” Part of the magic of Blunt Brunch is facilitating these gatherings of powerful women that can plant seeds that germinate for years to come.
It was especially important for Adelia and Parisa to spotlight and elevate fellow women of color who have carved out a space for themselves in this industry. After a career as a reality TV executive, CEO Whitney Beatty went on to found Apothecarry Brands and subsequently Josephine & Billies. Inspired by the teapad culture of the early 20th century, Josephine & Billies is the first dispensary founded specifically for women of color, designed to be a welcoming space where they can ask questions and learn, free from judgment. The name pays homage to Black trailblazers and cannabis enthusiasts Josephine Baker and Billie Holiday.
“When I think about legacy, I think about possibility,” Whitney says. “I want other women—especially women of color—to see that they don’t have to wait for permission to build something meaningful. If the space they need doesn’t exist yet, they can create it.”
Passionate about education and access for marginalized communities, Mskindess B. Ramirez, M.Ed. works at a surprising intersection: the space between traditional academia and cannabis industry workforce development. If these two realms don’t seem to go together, Mskindness is the right woman for the job. A former high school mathematics teacher, Mskindness now serves as President of Kind Works EDU, developing federally recognized apprenticeship programs specifically for the cannabis industry.
Loriel Alegrete started 40 Tons with her husband to use cannabis to support another marginalized community: those serving prison sentences—even life sentences—for drug possession. As the cannabis industry has boomed in recent years, 40,000 prisoners are still incarcerated on cannabis charges across the U.S., the majority of whom are people of color. One of these prisoners was her husband, Anthony, who served a lengthy prison sentence for growing weed. With 40 Tons and its accompanying foundation, Loriel is working to enact restorative justice and create change from the inside out.
Another community disproportionately affected by cannabis charges is the Indigenous community, which is why tribal commerce leader Mary Jane Oatman founded the Indigenous Cannabis Coalition (ICANNC). She is also the CEO of Tribal Partners Shipping Logistics, co-founder of the Global Tribal Network, and executive director of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association (ICIA). A passionate advocate for Indigenous sovereignty in emerging industries, Mary Jane works at the intersections of logistics, policy, publishing, and national coalition-building for tribal economic participation.
For Curaleaf marketing maven Angel Nelson, it’s important to embody both strength and compassion in her leadership; the two are not mutually exclusive. What began as a personal journey into the cannabis space after her mother suffered a traumatic brain injury became a career path and purpose, rooting Angel in a passion for education and advocacy for the plant.
While Bright Women, Bold Futures may have started as a single photoshoot, it’s already grown so much bigger. “There are incredible women building companies, leading teams, creating brands, raising capital, navigating regulations, advocating for change, and quietly doing the work that keeps this industry moving forward,” Parisa says. “We believe those women deserve to be seen. The photoshoot captured that visually, but the larger mission continues through everything we do. We want women to see themselves represented in leadership today while also creating more pathways for the women who will come next.”
These images—and more importantly, the connections they represent—illustrate a new era of cannabis leadership: collaborative, empathetic, diverse, and unapologetically ambitious. “We always say Blunt Brunch is more than an event series,” says Parisa. “The events may be where the introduction happens, but what women do with that connection afterward is where the real impact begins.” If this is a glimpse into the future of our industry, we’re in good hands.
You can join Blunt Brunch Nationals in Las Vegas on December 1, 2026. As their biggest gathering of the year, Blunt Brunch Nationals is “an opportunity to celebrate what women have accomplished while intentionally creating the relationships that can help shape what comes next,” Parisa says. She and Adelia hope to offer a space “for women to be seen, share their expertise, build meaningful relationships, and turn those relationships into tangible opportunities.” If you miss them there, you can stay in touch via their newsletter or by becoming a “Brunchette” on their website.
