About Parabola Center
"If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else." – Toni Morrison
Parabola Center is here for one reason: to keep cannabis legalization in the hands of people, not corporations. We are a nonpartisan team of lawyers, organizers, and policy experts who believe legalization must repair harm, build wealth in communities, and create real opportunity for small businesses.
This is not theory. Drug laws are changing because people demanded it. But without constant pressure, monopolies and lobbyists will take control. Our job is to arm the movement with the tools to stop them.
We have spent decades writing laws, shaping regulations, and fighting campaigns. We know how this system works, and we put that knowledge to work for the public. Every analysis, every resource, every policy idea you find here is designed to help communities push back and win.
The truth is people care about policy when it is clear and connected to their lives. Our organization makes the details simple, actionable, and powerful.
About the Directors
Shaleen Title is an attorney and drug policy activist who has been writing, passing, and implementing cannabis laws for over 20 years and was a top cannabis regulator in Massachusetts from 2017-2020. In addition to her role with Parabola Center, she serves as distinguished cannabis policy practitioner in residence at The Ohio State University College of Law’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, where she has authored papers on social equity and anti-monopoly policy. She is a frequent lecturer and consultant on cannabis policy and has testified before governmental bodies around the world about restorative justice in marijuana laws.
Shanel Lindsay is an attorney, advocate and serial entrepreneur. In addition to serving as Parabola Center’s Entrepreneur Director, Shanel is Founder and CEO of Ardent Life Inc., a global cannabis hardware and CPG company. Shanel was an author of Question 4, the ballot initiative to legalize adult use cannabis in Massachusetts. Subsequently, she was appointed to the Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Board, serving from 2017-2021. Shanel is also co-founder of the grassroots advocacy group Equitable Opportunities Now.
Laury Lucien is an attorney, professor, serial entrepreneur, and transformational speaker. In addition to her role as Education Director of the Parabola Center, she is the founder of the Legally Great Academy, a consulting and education company that supports entrepreneurs through every step of starting their companies. She was a vendor for the Cannabis Control Commission’s Social Equity Program, providing training and technical support to program participants. She is a founder of a co-located marijuana retailer, manufacturer, and delivery courier in Massachusetts. She was appointed to the Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Board. Laury currently teaches Cannabis Law at Suffolk University Law School and Clark University.
Damian Fagon is a former cannabis regulator for the state of New York, where he served as the inaugural Chief Equity Officer for the Office of Cannabis Management. A third-generation farmer and development economist, Damian blends grassroots agricultural experience with equitable economic policy, advising on cannabis market development and agricultural initiatives internationally. He currently serves as Director of the Bronx Cannabis Hub, building new models and programming for restorative economic justice and community-centered cannabis markets from the ground up. Damian holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MPA in Economic Development from Columbia University.
Margeaux (Maggie) was born and raised in Maine. After graduating college, she moved to Shanghai China and was hired as an early member of a fast-growing education technology startup, where she assisted the company with business and product development. After China, she moved back to Maine and was the Director of Operations of a CDC certified harm reduction Syringe Service Program where she helped grow the annual budget from $50,000 to $1.16 million within three years. In 2022, Maggie enrolled in law school at the University of Maine School of Law with a focus on drug policy and cannabis law.
Advisors
Parabola Center is grateful to our advisors who have been generous with their evidence-based and integrity-based guidance. They collectively bring deep expertise and a wide range of legal, science, and policy perspectives aligned with our goals of equity and justice.
- Ismail Ali, plant medicine and reciprocity
- Professor Leo Beletsky, public health law
- Professor Douglas A. Berman, criminal law
- Professor Scott Bloomberg, constitutional law
- Professor Rob Chlala, socioeconomics
- Rafi Aliya Crockett, financial services policy
- Damian Fagon, cannabis and equity
- Kassandra Frederique, strategy
- Dr. Peter Grinspoon, cannabis medicine
- Khurshid Khoja, federal regulations
- Drudys Ledbetter, patient access
- Victoria Litman, tax law
- Kim Napoli, DEI policy
- Jason Ortiz, youth and racial justice policy
- Cat Packer, tax and community reinvestment
- Steve Rolles, regulatory policy
- Dan Riffle, economic policy
- Danielle Schumacher, worker policy
- Justin Strekal, federal legislation
- Tamar Todd, legislative drafting
- Sanho Tree, international drug policy
- Jeannette Ward Horton, justice grants and loans
- Professor Jay Wexler, constitutional law
Fellows
The Parabola Center Fellows
Meredith McGee, MPH (she/her), is a public health professional dedicated to bridging the gap between research, community, and education. Her work focuses on cannabis, health equity, and LGBTQ+ communities, with a mission to make public health research more accessible and actionable beyond academia. A seasoned grant writer and fundraiser, Meredith has helped secure over a million dollars in funding to support community-led initiatives. She is especially passionate about connecting cannabis policy to public health infrastructure in ways that center lived experience and promote health justice. Meredith authored Parabola Center's essay on the drug policy U-curve.
Faith English is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Drug Dependence and Epidemiology Training Program. She received her PhD and MPH from the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, her research focuses on the intersection of cannabis legalization, health equity, and criminal justice reform. Dr. English is passionate about exploring the multiple ways in which cannabis and other drug legalization can address the public health crisis of mass incarceration and the war on drugs.
Tyler Giles is the founder & digital strategy director at Hammerhead Strategies, LLC. With a focus on progressive campaigns, advocacy groups, nonprofits, and small businesses, he leads digital fundraising, fundraising strategy, and data‑driven communications efforts. Hammerhead Strategies leverages cutting‑edge online tools and deep internet culture insights to amplify stories, build lasting infrastructure, and drive measurable impact—having helped clients raise thousands of dollars both online and at events. Prior to launching Hammerhead, he built a reputation in the political, hospitality, and non-profit spaces. He leads Parabola Center's email, social media, outreach, and other digital marketing efforts.
Hedy Yang is a senior at Brandeis University studying economics, environmental studies, and journalism. She has worked with the nonprofit American Economic Liberties Project as a researcher analyzing the effects of monopoly power and corporate concentration in fields like tech and healthcare, where she also helped develop policy toolkits for state legislators to address these harms. She most recently developed a passion for the issue of corporate concentration in recreational cannabis markets, and is excited to join a team of people working to enact equitable and community-centered cannabis policy.
Steve Mendez is a cannabis industry consultant and the founder of Buzz Krew LLC, a marketing and digital agency supporting cannabis businesses through branding, websites, and strategy. A University of Florida graduate with a degree in biology, Steve was pre-med and passed the MCAT before choosing to apply his scientific background to the cannabis industry to help build equitable markets. He has supported the acquisition of over fifty cannabis licenses across Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Vermont, and has helped secure over $1.5 million in Social Equity grants in Massachusetts.