One Cannabis Industry Mogul On The Power Of Connecting

"I'm empowering others. Nothing makes me feel more proud or capable than when I'm at a work event and I see my team excelling. When I can take a step back and watch the team that I've built in action, it makes me realize that I have created a special culture and a thriving business."

"Being a 'connector.' Especially in an industry as new as cannabis, relationships are everything. From helping someone with little experience but great potential get an internship, to connecting a Venture Capitalist to a company that results in an investment, to facilitating a partnership, or getting a story for a company with a major publication. The ability to make introductions that can help change the course for an individual or company is the ultimate power."

"My philosophy in life is that if you work hard, do the right thing, and live and work with integrity, things have a way of working themselves out. I feel the most powerless when I know that I, or my team, have done the work, pushed our hardest, and done each step right and the end result is not what we had hoped for. While it's never easy to have those moments of powerlessness, I do believe that things work out for a reason, and that struggle and failure are often a gift, and it helps to keep that in mind when the going gets rough."

"This one is really hard! There are two songs that always get me going when I need hype and inspiration: 'We Own It' by 2 Chainz and Whiz Khalifa and 'Alive' by Sia."

"My power icons are the women in my family. I am a third generation female business owner. My mother worked with her mother and aunts (my grandmother and great aunts) in a family business, so I come from a long line of independent women for whom work and entrepreneurship were a big part of their lives and identities. They were all able to build successful businesses while balancing family life. And to me that is the definition of an icon — being able to 'do it all.'"

"While some people might say a great dress and heels make them feel powerful, I actually feel most powerful when I am in my gym attire. Fitness is an integral part of my life, and I attribute much of my success to my commitment to working out and eating right. When you push yourself to do challenging things and reach new goals (like a 225 pound deadlift!) you are empowered to do challenging things in other areas of your life. Additionally, when you feel confident about how you look that energy is felt by others and they are drawn to that confidence, which goes a long way in an interpersonal career like public relations."