Green Market Report Women’s Leadership Awards: Rosie Mattio

Best Public Relations: Rosie Mattio, Mattio Communications

Rosie Mattio is the founder of MATTIO Communications, the largest cannabis-focused marketing and public relations agency in North America. She recently received the GMR Women’s Leadership Award for Public Relations which was announced at the Women’s Summit in New York on March 23. 

“I’m truly honored to receive this award,” Mattio said. “ I want to recognize the women (and men) who have provided guidance and support throughout my career. I stand on the shoulders of these incredible individuals who have paved the way for me and taught me how to be a leader.

“Being part of the cannabis community inspires me every day, and I’m committed to paying it forward by empowering the next generation of women leaders.”

At the Women’s Summit, Mattio spoke about her humble beginnings as a one-woman shop in Seattle, raising four children with her husband. She was on the front line, watching the birth of the adult-use market in the state and recognized an opportunity.

With a cross-country move back to the East Coast, Mattio began expanding her team while her husband took over the family duties as a stay-at-home dad. This big lifestyle shift helped her to give total focus to building the business.

Under her leadership, MATTIO became one of the only PR firms featured on the Inc. 5000 list. Today, Rosie is an established strategic powerhouse and industry connector recognized as one of PRNEWS’ Top Women in PR, High Times Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Women, and Forbes’ Top 10 Female Entrepreneurs.

Despite the success, Mattio gave real talk at the Summit about the difficulties of expansion from a one-person shop to a company with more than 60 employees. She spoke openly about the financial stress at times in the early days and how she assembled a solid team that has helped her to succeed. 

In August 2020, Rosie launched MATTIO’s podcast “Pot to Popular” where she conducts in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs, executives, and journalists. As of Nov. 3, 2022, Rosie has released 85 episodes and generated roughly 24,000 total downloads with the most popular episode garnering more than 1,000 downloads.

Rosie sits on the Board of Directors at New York City’s LIM College, which launched the nation’s first Bachelor of Business Administration degree program focused on the business of cannabis. She is also appointed to Agrify Corp.’s Advisory Board.