Founders

Founders

Meet our founders.

The Women's Initiative for a Safe and Equitable Florida was launched by a founding board of directors, along with a small, diverse group of supporters who recognize the harms caused by cannabis prohibition and share a commitment to advancing sensible cannabis policy reform in Florida. The board consists of four women — each a parent and well-respected professional from a different part of the state — who serve in a volunteer capacity.

Learn more about our founding board members and supporters below, then join our network!

WISE Florida Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Moriah Barnhart

Moriah Barnhart

Moriah is an advocate and businesswoman based in the Tampa Bay Area. She became a leader in the medical cannabis community after witnessing the benefits cannabis provided her young daughter while battling brain cancer. She co-founded CannaMoms in 2014 to educate the public about medical cannabis and advance medical cannabis policy reform at the state and federal levels. In 2015, Moriah helped launch Women Grow Tampa Bay, serving as founding chairwoman of the organization aimed at connecting, educating, and empowering women in all segments of the cannabis industry. She also organized large-scale advocacy efforts in support of Amendment 2, the successful 2016 ballot measure that established Florida's medical cannabis program. Moriah currently sits on the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Hemp Advisory Committee and Consumer Education Subcommittee. She regularly appears in the media and as a speaker at cannabis policy and business conferences.

Ivette Gonzalez Petkovich

Ivette Gonzalez Petkovich

Ivette is a Florida native, an attorney, and a community leader residing in the Miami-Dade area. She is founder of the Coral Gables-based Petkovich Law Firm, which provides legal and consulting services to Florida medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs) and hemp-related licensees, applicants, physicians, and others. As a litigator, Ivette also practices criminal defense and family law, and she previously served five years as a prosecutor with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. This broad range of experience has provided her with a deep understanding of the injustices associated with cannabis prohibition and the harm it causes to families and communities. She currently sits on the board of CannaMoms and on the City of Doral Commission on the Status of Women. Ivette previously served on the board of the League of Women Voters of Miami-Dade County, and in 2016 she ran for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives. She also worked with the Cannabis Career Institute to create the first cannabis industry seminar exclusively for Spanish speakers, and she regularly appears as a political and legal analyst on local Spanish media. 

Tamieka Range

Tamieka Range

Tamieka is a lawyer, educator, and mother of three who resides in Orlando. She is founder of the Range Law Firm, and she serves as an adjunct professor at Florida A&M University College of Law, where she has taught a course on "Cannabis Law and Social Justice." Prior to starting her legal career, she held various positions in compliance and management for a variety of financial institutions. Tamieka is a current member and past board member of Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana, where she provided support to the team responsible for the “diversity language” added to Florida’s medical cannabis program during the 2016-17 legislative session. Over the past few years, Tamieka has been engaged in education, business and policy creation, as well as providing legal and consulting services to medical cannabis patients and physicians, farmers, and companies working in or alongside the cannabis and hemp industries. She is also a founding member of ART420, an art company that focuses on cannabis-inspired art.

Supporters

Nikki Fried

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Holly Bell

Florida Director of Cannabis

John Allen

President, FTG Development Inc.

Courtney Barnes

Partner, Barnes Caplan, LLP

Barrie Bernstein

Advocate

Tiffany Bowden, MA, PhD

Anti-racism Educator / Diversity and Communication Specialist

Cynthia Brewer

Senior Vice President, Kaycha Labs

Mindy Budzynski

CEO, Bella Sol Wellness Centers

Josephine Cannella-Krehl

Founder, MMJ Knowledge

Steve DeAngelo

Cannabis Entrepreneur and Advocate

Jacel Delgadillo

Co-founder, CannaMoms

Lourdes Diaz

President, Divercity Communications, Inc.

Kim Edwards

President, The House of Doja, LLC

Jade Green

Cannabis Business Consultant

Mandy Harlan

President, Florida Marijuana Mentor

Jazmin Hupp

Co-founder, Women Grow

Jodi James

Board Member, Florida Cannabis Action Network

Deborah Johnson

Businesswoman / Florida Cannabis Advocate

Shannon Livingston

Cannabis Educator

Fan Li

Attorney, Kelley Uustal

Roz McCarthy

CEO, Minorities for Medical Marijuana

Deborah McCauley, BSN, CRRN

Compliance and Policy Development, NurseDebb, LLC

Dahlia Mertens

Founder and CEO, Mary Jane's Medicinals

Julia Mirer, MD

Florida Cannabis Advocate

Sasha Noe, DO, PhD

Medical Cannabis Physician / Researcher and Consultant

Melba Pearson

Civil Rights and Criminal Law Attorney / Former Prosecutor

Chris Polaszek

Attorney / Cannabis Advocate, Advisor & Strategist

Cindy Polo

Former Florida State Representative

Loren Pulitzer

Cannabis Chef

Kyra Reed

Founder, Women Empowered in Cannabis

Martha Rosenthal, PhD

Professor of Neuroscience and Physiology

Shelby Scarpa

Deputy Chief of Staff, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Stormy Simon

E-commerce Pioneer / Podcast Host

Keily Stiff

Business Owner

Kim Stuck

Founder, Allay Consulting, LLC

Jammie Treadwell

Treadwell Farms

Chloe Villano

President, Clover Leaf University

Montel Williams

Media Personality / Healthcare Advocate

Genester Wilson-King, MD, FACOG

Medical Director, Victory Rejuvenation Center

Jennifer Wimberly

Attorney

Kevin W. Wimberly

Attorney