Kelly Perez

Kelly Perez

President & Co-Founder of Cannabis Doing Good, CEO & Co-Founder of KindColorado, and Co-ED of Cannabis Impact Fund

Tell us your canna-story. What led you to this industry? What was your first endeavor and what piqued your interest about cannabis?

I was the Governor in Colorado’s human services policy advisor when cannabis became a regulated industry. I saw very quickly that the policy did not mention any focus on War on Drugs, or mass incarceration or communities center in benefitting. I set out to impact that. My business partner Courtney and I were introduced and we created Cannabis Social Responsibility (CSR) in cannabis to solve for this highlighting the ROI for being connected to community and the mutual benefit to meet and exceed regulations. We started from an anti-racism lens and have been operating from there since our inception in 2015. Getting to help move our industry to actively anti-racist is an honor. I also sustained a very serious brain injury that year and cannabis helped. My recovery and our ability to create/capture a purpose driven narrative in cannabis is something I am proud of. Trying to make the right thing easier–moving us all toward an industry that we can be proud of is a thrill to help to lead.

What is your favorite thing about working in cannabis and what keeps you excited about continuing to work in this space? What do you find to be unique about this industry?

I get to bring my whole imperfect, passionate self to the work. I get to work with amazing, change making innovators who seek justice and ecological soundness and liberated thinking to a nascent industry.

What do you think is the next BIG THING in Cannabis?

Federal legalization, focused efforts on creating an equitable industry, Purpose driven consumers looking where to spend their dollars.

What is a little known fact about yourself? What are some of your interests and hobbies?

I am a rapids stand up paddle boarder, one of the owner members of the first BIPOC yoga cooperative in the U.S., mother of 5 pretty cool humans, who is loved deeply.

Who is someone that inspires your work?

Wanda James and Christine De La Rosa, Lanese Martin and Melek Dexter

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