Celebrating Pride Month Through Education & Awareness

For Pride Month 2021, Vireo Health is not only celebrating and highlighting our LGBTQIA+ team members, but we are also working to spread better understanding, acceptance, and awareness of the challenges that members of these communities face at work and in their personal lives.

Earlier this year we hosted company-wide trainings on Proper Pronoun Use and on Recognizing and Avoiding Microaggressions in the workplace. These trainings helped our team members to better understand and work with folks in the LGBTQIA+ and other often overlooked or marginalized communities.

This year to honor Pride Month, we are hosting an LGBTQIA+ Inclusion Training Session on Tuesday, June 29 for all Vireo team members. The training will discuss issues and challenges these folks face, how to be an ally, information about different types of gender expression, the importance of Pride Month, and much more. We are also giving away free Pride Stickers at all 16 of our retail dispensaries.

Vireo is proud to have many LGBTQIA+ team members and patients. To help commemorate Pride Month and remind us to keep working to honor and protect our LGBTQIA+ communities, we interviewed two of our Vireo’s LGBTQIA+ identifying team members. Check out those interviews below!

Kitty Sipple, Patient Care Coordinator, Minnesota

Please tell us your name, where you are from, and your preferred pronouns!

My name is Kitty. I currently live in Minneapolis, MN and my pronouns are they/them.

When did you start at Vireo and what are your location and title?

I started working at Vireo in December 2020 in Burnsville, MN as a Patient Care Coordinator.

Tell us a little about your role at Vireo?

I am the resident plant nerd at my location – I studied the interaction of human systems and psychoactive plants and fungi for my undergraduate degree.

What made you interested in joining the cannabis industry?

I am disabled and use medical cannabis to treat my chronic pain. I believe in cannabis as medicine so much that I wanted to be a part of supporting others along their cannabis journey as well!

What do you like about working at Vireo?

My favorite part about working for Vireo is the fact that I get to be a part of a union as a cannabis worker!

What is something interesting or unexpected you’ve found working in the cannabis industry?

The most unexpected part of working in the world of medical cannabis is that a lot of my patient care is holding space for the patients, including their pain, their joy, and their grief. So much of this work is really about listening with compassion and kindness.

What does Pride Month mean to you?

Pride month is a reminder to me that the first Pride actually celebrates a riot against police brutality. Pride has always been about liberation!

How do you plan to celebrate Pride Month considering the ongoing limitations of COVID?

I plan on celebrating Pride month by wearing my mask and socially distancing with my queer family because the pandemic is still not over!

Any suggestions on how people can help support their LGBTQIA+ friends during Pride and year-round?

Support queer youth and protect trans kids all year round!

Any family, friends, or co-workers to shout out?

The team I am a part of in Burnsville, MN is truly incredible. Shout out to Hannah, Tessa, Anna, and Christine – working with you all is simply the best!

Lee Stangle, Brand Ambassador, New York

Please tell us your name, where you are from, and your preferred pronoun!

My name is Lee Stangle, I am from Albany, New York, and my pronouns are he/him/his.

When did you start at Vireo and what are your location and title?

I started at Vireo in October 2018 as a Patient Care Coordinator. I am currently a Brand Ambassador for New York and Maryland.

Tell us a little about your role at Vireo?

As Brand Ambassador, I represent and support Vireo brands and products, providing education for patients and dispensary staff, engaging with the cannabis community, and spreading the word that Cannabis is Medicine.

What made you interested in joining the cannabis industry?

Studying the health care industry sparked my interest in treatment options outside of traditional medicine. I wanted to learn more about plant medicine and taking a holistic approach to wellness. My passion for cannabis developed after I started working for Vireo, from interacting with patients and hearing daily how this medicine has been life-changing for people of all different ages, backgrounds, and conditions.

What do you like about working at Vireo?

I love working with colleagues who are passionate about cannabis and healing. As a physician-founded and physician-led company, we are patient-focused and wellness-driven. It is inspiring to be constantly reminded of why we do what we do: to help improve the quality of life of the people we serve.

What’s something interesting or unexpected you’ve found working in the cannabis industry?

It excites me to see skeptics turn into believers. Whether it is a patient who hasn’t learned about cannabis since “Reefer Madness” and is shocked at how much good the plant can do, or someone who comes in seeking cannabis for its recreational value, only to discover they had been missing out on the medical benefits that can come from the right cannabinoid ratios and product formats.

What does Pride Month mean to you?

Pride Month is a time to celebrate being true to oneself, unapologetically. It is a reminder that no matter how you identify or who you love, there is a community full of acceptance and support. Pride is a time for comradery within the community, gratitude for our allies, and solidarity for the struggles that LGBTQIA+ individuals face. Also, Pride is about fun – bright colors, good music, connecting with others – in many ways, Pride and Cannabis go hand-in-hand.

How do you plan to celebrate Pride Month considering the ongoing limitations of COVID?

By remembering that Pride is everywhere, all the time, not just at a festival or parade. And by continuing to wear a mask and social distance!

Any suggestions on how people can help support their LGBTQIA+ friends and family during Pride and year-round?

Try to never make assumptions about people. Keep an open mind and be willing to listen and learn. Add your pronouns to your email signature.

Any family, friends, or co-workers to shout out?

I am very grateful to receive so much support and acceptance from family, friends, Vireo teammates, and cannabis industry peers. I want to thank everyone for embracing me with kindness as I embrace my true self: a transgender man. Special shout-out to my colleagues Theresa Svoboda and Paloma Lehfeldt – they have been rockstar supporters and allies from day 1, which truly made a difference for me during a challenging time. And always, shout out to my parents and to my partner Lisa.

Thank you to Kitty and Lee for sharing your stories. Happy Pride Month to all!