Black Businesswoman Celebrates Two Year Anniversary as a Vertically Integrated Cannabis Operator in a Male Dominated Industry

Harvest of OH companies build diverse leadership team and workforce in effort to remove systemic barriers to economic opportunities for women and people of color

CLEVELAND, Aug. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This August, the Harvest of OH companies, led by Ariane Kirkpatrick, CEO, founder, and majority owner, celebrate their second anniversary as Ohio's only female and Black majority-owned vertically integrated cannabis company. The family of companies includes three Harvest of Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries: Harvest of Columbus, Harvest of Athens, and Harvest of Beavercreek; as well as Harvest Grows, a 25,000 square feet greenhouse facility, and Harvest Processing.

"We are intent on improving lives through the goodness of medical marijuana ? for our patients who have recommendations from physicians with active certificates to recommend medical marijuana, for employees who are looking to grow their careers in a new industry, and by contributing to the economic growth and stability of the communities we serve," said Kirkpatrick. "Today, we celebrate the successes of the past two years and look forward to continued growth in the years to come."

The Harvest of OH dispensaries together have provided more than 25,000 patients with the opportunity to use medical marijuana as treatment for their qualifying conditions through access to quality cannabis products, education, resources, and support. "We are focused on delivering the best experience possible for our patients and creating a diverse and inclusive environment for our employees," Kirkpatrick shared.

According to a 2017 Marijuana Business Daily report, only one in five cannabis businesses nationwide are minority-owned and the numbers have since declined. People of color continue to face barriers in joining and being able to sustain in the legal cannabis industry, including gaining access to traditional, as well as non-traditional financing in the highly regulated cannabis industry.

To help change these statistics, Harvest of OH set out from the beginning to build a diverse team. Today, the executive leadership team is 93% Black and 60% female. The nearly 100 employees of the family of companies are diverse as well: 50% are African American, 57% identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and 37% are female. "Being intentional in how we build our leadership and team is vitally important in an industry that is both new and predominately white and male," Kirkpatrick shared.

"At Harvest of OH, we are changing the narrative when it comes to marijuana and people of color, who have borne the brunt of marijuana arrests and convictions," said Kirkpatrick. "Now, we are driving diversity, equity and inclusion within the cannabis industry, and making sure that we provide our diverse team with the tools, resources and training they need to move into leadership positions and succeed."

This model has proven productive, with 36% of the companies' employees being promoted since their time of hire.

SOURCE Harvest of OH