the the EQUALITY issue
MINORITY-LED CANNABIS ORGANIZATIONS What do you do when there’s nowhere to turn for more information about the Cannabis industry and the vast majority of the people you see succeeding in it look very different from you? If you’re Ophelia Chong, Javier Armas or Sheena Roberson, you start your own organization and become the change.
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Photo by Zach Anderson @tthezachanderson
ASIAN AMERICANS FOR CANNABIS EDUCATION FOUNDER OPHELIA CHONG
CHONG RECENTLY HOSTED A ROOM ON CLUBHOUSE WHERE SHE BROUGHT WOMEN AT THE C-SUITE LEVEL IN CANNABIS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM YOUNGER WOMEN LOOKING TO GET INVOLVED. AUG. 2021
phelia Chong created Asian Americans for Cannabis Education (AACE) in 2016 - a natural next step after her first project, Stock Pot Images, took off right away. That concept itself was a response to Chong’s dismay that none of the popular stock image repositories were offering options of ethnic people using Cannabis, unless it was as a stereotype or propaganda. “That’s why we created the largest collection in the world: 30,000 images from over 240 photographers portraying Cannabis as it is,” Chong explained. “I partnered with Adobe for that. With that project, I also noticed that there was a dearth of information for Asian Americans and the AAPI community.” Chong’s answer is AACE, which is all about pushing the AAPI community forward in the Cannabis industry. Started by Chong and two co-founders, she eventually found herself as the sole person in charge. One of AACE’s primary offerings are the rich, engaging interviews Chong conducts with everyone from CEOs to doctors, grad students and C-suite executives. Recent guests include Connie Lee, who put together Yale Business School’s first Cannabis conference in 2016, CEO of Leafly Yoko Miyashita, and CEO of Papa & Barkley Evelyn Wang. According to Chong, long-lasting prejudices held by some in the AAPI community initially made it difficult to book guests for AACE. “At the beginning,” she said, “it was very hard to get people for interviews. Some of them even asked me to take down their interviews because they didn’t want their parents to know. They panicked. However, in the last year, things are changing to where now, people are asking to be interviewed!” Another aspect of AACE is networking. Chong recently hosted a room on Clubhouse where she brought women at the C-suite level in Cannabis to answer questions from younger women looking to get involved. Though she’s rightfully pleased with the progress AACE has already made, she also lamented how hard the process can be when one is expected to be an agent for change, while also remaining a shining example for others. “It’s hard to be a minority that stands out because you have to be the good one,” Chong explained. “We have to walk a very fine line. We are also a small percentage of the general population – and one that’s mostly concentrated on the coasts as well – so when we’re in an industry like Cannabis, we are very visible.” Chong celebrated that visibility as a stepping stone to true normalization. “We have two female [AAPI] CEOs: one at Leafly and one at Papa & Barkley’s. That’s pretty amazing. I think we’re just normalizing, where, after a while, it just won’t be interesting anymore.” ASIANAMERICANSFORCANNABIS.ORG
