Black History Year - Dr Chanda Macias

If ever we feel overwhelmed by how much we have going on at any given moment, we should spend that moment thinking about Dr Chanda Macias; use her to gauge just how much a human can do at once successfully.

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The purpose of this series is to highlight the achievements of Black people. Well, how’s this for a list of highlights?

1. PhD from Howard University in Cellular Biology, MBA from Rutgers in Supply Chain Management
2. Her research at Colgate-Palmolive led to the launch of multiple billion-dollar brands
3. Several published scientific articles and studies, including multiple US and global patents
4. Chairwoman and CEO of Women Grow
5. CEO of National Holistic, a cannabis and hemp healthcare enterprise
6. Through Ilera Healthcare, is one of only two licensed cultivators in Louisiana in partnership with Southern University
7. Board member, Minority Cannabis Business Association
8. Treasurer and Secretary of DC Medical Cannabis Trade Association
9. Winner of the Green Market Report’s Women’s Leadership Award for Science
10. Mother of FOUR

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Pluck any 3 of those items and you have a full lid. Dr. Macias tackles all 9 of the first highlights while also being a mother of four. That 10th one is a full time job alone.

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In a world where the cannabis industry has shifted more into a CPG paradigm and away from the medical focus of its youth, Dr Macias stands out as one of the few medical practitioners approaching this work with great rigor. In an interview with Huffington Post, she said:

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“I understand the cell signaling transduction pathways that are associated with different diseases and underlying conditions, and align them with strains that can induce protein expression for healthcare.”

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Custom tailored cannabis recommendations based on directly treating specific conditions and diseases (although she couldn’t use this language directly because of compliance regulations). But we all know what the deal is here. Cannabis is medicine, and it does treat these things even if the existing medical research hasn’t caught up to that yet.

People like Dr. Macias serve to help legitimize cannabis as a medicine for patients and consumers in need of alternative solutions to pharmaceuticals. With the industry prioritizing form over function, we need more people like her to help keep us aligned with the mission this industry was born from.

Chanda has taught us that kindness, tenacity, relationship and wit are critical for business, leveraging soft skills as a key pillar of what makes women successful entrepreneurs and leaders. 

Through her re-launch of Women Grow she has instilled values and programs built upon networking, education, and leadership development that foster lifelong growth, ensuring every woman has the community and the connections they need to build a thriving and impactful business. Chanda's legacy is one of "we can" and "why not" -- a vision that stewards a female-led future; and thus, a more powerful, communal and holistic approach to the entire cannabis ecosystem. 

Join us in sharing power and light with Dr. Chanda Macias! You can connect with her directly here on LinkedIn, and be sure to follow her work at Women Grow, Ilera Healthcare, and National Holistics.