Thursday, October 18, 2018

3:15 PM - 4:00 PM - Herscher Hall, Guerin B

Cannabis and Corporate Social Responsibility: Social Equity

Adam Vine, founder, Cage Free Cannabis

Felicia Carbajal, Latinos for Cannabis / CA Cannabis Advocates

Lauren Estevez Esq, Head of the Business & Regulatory group, Margolin & Lawrence

Jake Gildea, Community Impact Director

Jennifer Lujan, Director of Social Impact, eaze, Moderator

Jennifer Lujan is the Director of Social Impact at Eaze. In her role Jennifer leads the company’s efforts to leverage human capital technology and resources to improve communities. Prior to Eaze she was the Founder and CEO of Weed for Good and now serves on the Board of Directors. Weed for Good a nonprofit based in San Francisco provides free low cost cannabis to low income patients. Previously she launched and oversaw Lyft’s social responsibility program Lyft for Good a program that bridged the gap between the ridesharing platform and populations that have barriers to transportation access. Before that Jennifer managed Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s community engagement programs throughout the Bay Area. Jennifer brings more than 15 years of experience in community engagement and philanthropy across a wide variety of industries and an award winning social entrepreneur. Raised in Texas she received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Texas State University and has participated in post-graduate programs at Harvard and University of California Berkeley

Adam Vine, Founder, Cage Free Cannabis: Adam runs the day to day operations of Cage-Free Cannabis. He works in the overlapping worlds of advocacy, media, and politics. Criminal justice reform and drug policy reform have been his core areas of focus since 2012. He has produced media and participatory direct actions in support of voting rights, sentencing reform, juvenile justice, immigration reform, and Propositions 19, 47, 57, and 64 in California. He has also coordinated youth-led protests in Los Angeles, mentored high school students in Washington, DC, and produced campaign ads for non-profits and progressive candidates alike. He's been a cannabis consumer and patient for more than 18 years.

Felicia Carbajal, Latinos for Cannabis / CA Cannabis Advocates: Felicia Carbajal is the link between marriage equality and cannabis advocacy. While both causes rely on increasing visibility and challenging preconceived notions, Carbajal is the woman in the middle. After California’s Supreme Court ruled for marriage equality in 2008, Carbajal married her wife, thrusting her into a divisive battle over Prop. 8. “There were these [campaign ads] of little girls with pigtails and big puppy-dog eyes,” she recalls. “One was Latina, holding up a sign that I knew this girl was too young to even read. It said, ‘Marriage: One Man, One Woman.’ ” That girl reminded Carbajal of herself growing up. She became a field organizer for the Courage Campaign, where she co-coordinated Meet in the Middle in her Central California hometown of Fresno. Once the flurry around Prop. 8 died down, she had a chance meeting with physician Allan Frankel, founder of GreenBridge Medical Services — which bills itself as a premier medicinal marijuana clinic. He allowed Carbajal to continue her work as a community organizer. “[Medicinal marijuana users are] just as important of a community to me as being LGBT and Latina.” Carbajal has met several closeted cannabis users, some of whom relied on it to treat chronic pain. Now her job is to get them and other like-minded medicinal cannabis users to keep coming out.

Lauren Estevez Esq, Head of the Business & Regulatory group, Margolin & Lawrence: Lauren is an attorney and the Head of the Business & Regulatory group at Margolin & Lawrence law firm. She advises cannabis industry clients & brands throughout California and nationwide on corporate law, strategy, and licensing & compliance. Most recently, Lauren has been featured on CNBC, Cheddar, and in Law360. Prior to the cannabis industry, Lauren worked at a global law firm in London and New York and at a start up, where her clients included Fortune 500 companies in the life sciences and technology sectors. Lauren holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Jake Gildea is a passionate cannabis and justice advocate, who has worked throughout his career as a community engagement specialist. Criminalized as a youth in Boston through a series of truancy and cannabis related arrests, Jake saw firsthand how quickly personal trauma could turn into life-changing consequences for impacted youth. Jake furthered his commitment to youth justice as a Criminology Major at the University of Toronto where he participated as a mentor in programs serving incarcerated youth in the course of his studies. These experiences helped lead him to a lifelong dedication: supporting formerly incarcerated youth inside and outside of the juvenile justice system in Canada and now in Los Angeles where he lives and raises his family of six in Leimert Park. Jake has experience managing several cannabis businesses in different areas along the supply chain in Canada and in the U.S. His experience and commitment position him to be an effective builder of bridges between the cannabis industry and the justice community.