Founder & CEO, Simply Pure

Wanda James is the founder and CEO of Simply Pure Dispensary. Along with her husband and fellow veteran Scott Durrah, they became the first African Americans, legally licensed in America, to own a dispensary, a cultivation facility, and an edibles company. She is also the founder and Managing Partner of the Cannabis Global Initiative (CGI), a consulting firm that specializes in cannabis production, dispensing and processing, regulatory framework, and political outreach.

Wanda is highly focused on social equity and justice within cannabis. She was quickly recognized and selected for Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s Amendment 64 Task Force Work Groups. Amendment 64 helped end the cannabis prohibition in Colorado - virtually creating the recreational landscape as we know it.

Her work on reform has led to her to be called upon by a host of national politicians including Vice Presidential Elect Kamala Harris, U.S. Representative Barbara Lee, and Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who appointed Wanda to the Colorado Tourism Board.