Washington, D.C.
— PRESS RELEASE — The nation’s largest marijuana policy organization, the Marijuana PolicyProject (MPP), announced Monday the election of four new members to serve on
its board of directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome four outstanding new members to our board of
directors. Their experience and proven track record of success in the cannabis
space will boost MPP’s efforts and serve as an asset as we embark on another year
of advocating for the end of cannabis prohibition. My heart is full knowing MPP
has mission-based people backing our work, and we won’t stop fighting until
both the people and the plant are free,” said Toi Hutchinson, president and CEO of the Marijuana Policy
Project.
"We thank our outgoing board members who were all tireless activists
for cannabis reform. I am so thrilled to have Tom, Barrington, Kim, and Betty
join the MPP Board of Directors. They bring a diverse depth of cannabis
expertise from across the country. The four new members are excellent additions
who will strengthen the board and bring new perspectives from both cannabis
business and legalization campaigns. With Congress failing to act, we know that
the strategy for victory will be brought back to our roots—changing state
laws! MPP has been changing state laws for twenty-seven years, and our newly
revamped board is positioned to lead MPP until every state has ended the failed
war on cannabis," said Sal
Pace, chair of the Marijuana Policy Project Board of Directors.
The new appointments to MPP’s now nine-memberboard of directors include:
Betty Aldworth:
Prior to becoming Director of Communications and Marketing at MAPS in 2020,
Betty Aldworth was the Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy
where she led and supported tens of thousands of students and young people
united to build a more sensible future through reforming drug policies to be
rooted in safety, justice, and education.
Kim Napoli:
In 2006, Kim opened The Hempest Harvard Square, a small business located in
Cambridge, Mass. In doing so, Napoli became the first female of color to
own a cannabis-related business in the state of Massachusetts.
Tom Roth:
Drawing on more than 17 years of corporate government affairs experience in
highly regulated industries, Tom Roth helps lead state and industry relations
for Scott Miracle-Gro’s Hawthorne Gardening Company as their Manager of
External affairs.
Barrington Rutherford:
As Chairman of the Board of Directors at Park Jordan, Barrington
Rutherford brings a deep knowledge of the cannabis industry through his years
of experience leading the real estate department of Cresco Labs—one of the
largest and most respected multi-state cannabis organizations in the U.S.
MPP has spearheaded most of the major state-level reforms that have occurred
over the past two decades and has been a leading advocate for federal marijuana
policy reform on Capitol Hill since the organization was founded in 1995.
