Gia Morón, founder and CEO of public relations and business strategy powerhouse GVM Communications, puts the work in for her clients—and the greater good.
By
Gia Morón is widely regarded as one of the industry’s leading public relations and communications executives, and for good reason. Always a step ahead, Morón brings a dynamic perspective, an outlook that’s been shaped by her impressive career both in and outside of cannabis.
As founder and CEO of GVM Communications, Morón expanded her firm’s work into cannabis and hemp a decade ago, a choice she credits to her time in the financial sector that taught her to be on the lookout for trends and forecasts—to be prepared and always look ahead. This mindset has helped her not only grow her clients’ companies; it’s also helped her advance cannabis reform and set the stage for more business opportunities on a larger scale.
“I believe my company is able to be a valuable contributor to the direction of how we see the industry going, but in doing that, we have to support the businesses to get there,” she says.
And Morón’s clients aren’t the only ones who’ve recognized just how much they can achieve together. In 2016, she joined Women Grow, the largest professional network for women in cannabis and hemp. She went on to serve as the group’s president from 2019-23 and formed a free Cannabis Business Summit Series with Emmanuel Baptist Church in New York City—an initiative aimed to educate and engage her local community in cannabis and one that she still operates under GVM Communications.
While Morón’s business acumen is apparent, perhaps equally impressive is her congenial nature and ability to communicate effectively with key stakeholders across industries. She’s worked closely with federal and state agencies, higher education institutions, community organizers and more. The list goes on, and it’ll be exciting to see where it goes from here.
What’s GVM Communications all about?
GVM Communications is really my initials, but it stands for “Great Visions and Minds Communicating.” That’s the breadth of what I believe we bring to our clients. We add value by helping them see beyond what they can see for themselves as a business, which is why it was always important for me to remain working outside the cannabis industry as well.
How did you get into the cannabis sector?
I launched my company on 4/20 in 2012 and this was before knowing I would enter the cannabis initiative. I started hearing conversations around cannabis, and my past education taught me this is something I need to pay attention to. It was actually one of my colleagues who said, “Instead of going after a license for retail or cultivation, why don’t you offer the services you currently provide for your other clients?” And so that’s exactly what I did.
How has your work outside cannabis helped your weed clients the most?
Because as the industry continues to evolve, clients are becoming more sophisticated. Cannabis companies looking to go public benefit from having someone like me who’s comfortable working with investor relations, preparing for earnings, or doing any of the things that publicly traded businesses would have to do. Having my foot in cannabis as well as outside of the industry allows me to remain plugged into what’s happening within the mainstream that I believe I will see in the cannabis industry. It’s proven right so far.
What have you learned by being in both the cannabis and mainstream sectors?
There’s a natural intersection. Eventually someone is going to ask, “How do we set weight into a more mainstream setting?” This is no different than asking how traditional markets enter the cannabis industry.
You guide your clients in strategy and marketing as well?
Absolutely. And I love crisis communications. I come from financial services—I get a thrill out of working on crisis, and I can tell you, you cannot operate in the cannabis industry and not expect a crisis, so it’s a sweet spot for us. But what I get most excited about is the strategy part because there’s so much innovation that happens within this space.
What kind of cannabis clients do you have?
I’ve worked with plant-touching as well as ancillary businesses. We’ve had clients that have been in the canna-tech space; I’ve worked with dispensaries and cultivation. About four companies have gone public. What I love about my clients is that, while they do need our services, I’m also learning so much from them. One of our clients, Leafwell, I’m excited by them because while the everyday person would see them as a patient registration company, they’re so much more than that. They provide phenomenal research, which I think is instrumental to the industry.
As the industry matures, how is the message around cannabis?
I do believe I have a professional responsibility to help this industry grow. As a communications professional, I feel like my role goes beyond just my clients, but it should go to my community as well. Overall, I want to continue dismantling the stigma around cannabis and helping people understand that cannabis is medicine and even when consumed socially, how is that any different than alcohol, which is far more damaging, right?
What would you say has been your career highlight in cannabis?
I think just being smart enough to come into an industry that many feared—entering early because I feel like I’m growing with the industry. Having the opportunity to be a part of early conversations and applying my professional expertise from traditional industries to cannabis. That’s where I’m proud—to see some of the work I’m doing behind the scenes really grow and evolve.
What advice would you offer other women and people of color who are interested in pursuing a cannabis career?
For my whole career, I’ve always been the only person of color in the room, and that to me isn’t an achievement. It’s my responsibility to continue inviting more people who look like me, who have my experience, my background, who come from where I come from, and to say, “Yes, you can enter an industry like this too. You can be in the rooms like this.” None of this is limited to just me.
What keeps you motivated to get up and go to work every day? To keep “fighting the good fight,” if you will. I love the strategy, I do. It’s honestly what inspires me to continue working in the industry. To continue to be innovative in this industry, we must constantly think about the content we’re bringing to the audience. It’s not just the present-day challenges and successes, but it’s also looking at the future. It goes back to my days of financial services—what’s the trend, what’s the outlook? We must continue to push as an industry, to be innovative, to really think about the subject matters that not only matter to date, but that will matter in the next five to ten years
Chef Manny Mendoza’s immersive fine-dining experience, Herbal Notes, educates Chicagoans on the “cannatomy of cannabis.”
The versatility of soup can be such a beautiful thing. It can be made with four…
The rap legend—and the 2024 inductee to Cannabis Now’s Hall of Fame—talks as never before about…
Get Your LEGAL MEDICAL CARD →
GO GREEN & download our app →
Meet 4.2 MILLION Cannabis Fans →
Copyright © 2024 Cannabis Now
