Akele Parnell is co-founder of ÜMI Farms, a cannabis ecosystem which includes craft brands like lab 11 and ÜMI dispensaries, the first of which will open the Fall 2024 in Lincoln Park. He is also a co-founder of Nube NYC a New York dispensary brand launching fall of 2024 in the Bronx. His work to advance equity in the cannabis industry has been featured in numerous media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, NPR, WGN, Politico, Black Enterprise, Chicago-Sun Times, Crain’s Chicago and more. Previously, Mr. Parnell served as Head of Equity Partnerships for Lantern, Staff Attorney for the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, and in-house counsel for Green Thumb Industries, one of the largest multi-state cannabis operators in the industry. Akele has also volunteered as a Board Member of Chicago NORML and the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition, as well as at the Cannabis Trade Federation as a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force.