We have been fortunate to advocate in the space since 1996, when my brother was arrested. At FMS Global Strategies, we strive to create an environment where Black/African can become successful and productive owners in the legal cannabis industry. I-502 continues to be a challenge for BIPOC people in Washington State. Our goal is to look at cannabis through the lens of anti-black racism, focusing on dismantling the structures that made it difficult for us to gain our footing in the industry. I’ll be sharing my experience as both a black community advocate and a lobbyist.

The Collaborative will support the department’s efforts to maintain an equity and social justice lens in the COVID-19 vaccine planning efforts. This Collaborative will intentionally prioritize the needs, requests, feedback, recommendations, and participation from communities and sectors most impacted by COVID-19.  We are building the Collaborative with a community-informed process at every step to ensure that key partners and communities see themselves within the Collaborative structure. The department’s Community Relations & Equity team will support the Collaborative in partnership with a contractor to coordinate meetings and activities. The Collaborative will be focused on the various aspects of COVID-19 vaccination implementation and will serve as the sustainable engagement and advisory structure for this work through 2021.

As a reminder, the Collaborative will initially focus on access and outreach and will be a space for members to:

• Support COVID-19 vaccine planning and implementation efforts as guided by state and federal guidance

• Provide feedback on COVID-19 vaccine outreach efforts to ensure messaging is community-driven and builds vaccine confidence and trust within Washington communities.