StaffOn April 28, 2022, Green Market Report held its first-ever Women’s Summit. During the event, the Women’s Leadership Awards were announced and presented to the winners. Over the next two weeks, we will highlight each of these winners and congratulate them on their contributions to the cannabis industry.
Women’s Leadership Award
Social Equity
Narmin Jarrous – Chief Development Officer, Exclusive Brands
Narmin Jarrous manages operational planning and positioning for all developmental strategies within the Exclusive Brands organization, while also leading the teams’ Social Equity efforts, determined to lift up communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the prohibition of marijuana.
Social equity is more than just a business buzzword for Narmin. In the last few years, Jarrous has taken initiative to implement a robust social equity program at Exclusive, partnering with organizations like the National Birth Equity Coalition and the Last Prisoner Project through Exclusive’s brands and retail stores. The program also helps Social Equity Applicants (as defined by the State of MI) gain their licenses. Narmin personally helps organizations fill out their applications, build their facility plans, pay application fees, and acts as a liaison between the organization and the state.
Being a female executive of color working in a largely male-dominated cannabis industry, Narmin supports women and encourages them to join the cannabis industry through her mentorship program at Exclusive. Narmin actively holds regular speaking engagements to educate women by sharing her personal experiences and learnings about the industry.
It is Jarrous’ hope that her work increases community access to the industry as well as safe and legal cannabis for all. Jarrous sees Exclusive’s Social Equity program as a medium to enrich the communities that have supported her and Exclusive on their journey. Through job fairs, resume-building workshops, or mentorship programs, Narmin plans to expand this program to do it all.
