Dasheeda Dawson, who developed the “Retail and Cannabis” course in LIM College’s Master of Professional Studies degree program in The Business of Cannabis has been named by New York City Mayor Eric Adams as the founding director of the Department of Small Business Services’ (SBS) new Cannabis NYC initiative.
In this role, Dawson will lead SBS’s strategy to support New York’s emerging cannabis industry through widespread public education, direct services to cannabis entrepreneurs and professionals, legislative advocacy, and policy development at all levels of government.
According to Michael Zaytsev, LIM College’s Academic Director, Business of Cannabis, “This is great news for the New York cannabis community. I can’t imagine a better person to take on this important new role. Dasheeda helped develop our Business of Cannabis curriculum, and I am proud that our students have the opportunity to learn from cannabis industry leaders and trailblazers.”
Dawson will serve as the primary liaison between SBS, other city agencies, the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, as well as community stakeholders, including elected officials, community boards, and industry associations. She will also work to establish and collaborate with the New York City Cannabis Advisory Council, an advisory board of industry and community stakeholders that aims to ensure innovation and equity are central to the success of this emerging industry.
In a press release, Mayor Adams said, “The nation’s most equitable cannabis industry will be in New York City, and to drive that goal home, we have chosen a proven leader with unmatched experience and credibility in this field. Dasheeda Dawson will fill the needs of entrepreneurs in this space, and as a person with lived experience and who was harmed by the ‘War on Drugs,’ this is personal for her. I look forward to working with her, day after day, to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for New Yorkers and grow this initiative.”
Originally hailing from Brooklyn, Dawson is a global cannabis advocate, award-winning Fortune 100 business strategist, and a bestselling author on the cannabis industry.
As an advocate and policy advisor, Dawson was pivotal to the 2021 landmark passage of New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. While fighting for legalization in her home state, Dawson was tapped to lead cannabis regulation in Portland, Oregon.
As cannabis program manager for the City of Portland, Dawson oversaw all regulatory licensing, compliance, education, and equity initiatives for the city’s cannabis industry.
Dawson also serves as Board chair of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition, a national organization of industry policymakers and regulators often referred to as the leading architects of cannabis equity and reform in the United States.
Said Dawson in the press release, “Now, as a cannabis patient, educator, and regulator, I get to support other consumers, small businesses, and local stakeholders in the growing industry so that cannabis — once used to suppress communities like mine — can be tapped as a tool for transformation. I’m thrilled to be back home, helping to craft an equity-centered approach to the city’s cannabis industry framework that welcomes all New Yorkers to the table.”
