Dori Edwards

Dori Edwards

Co-Founder, Ayurvanna Inc. Dori Edwards is one of the feminist pioneers and entrepreneurs of the cannabis industry in Michigan. You’d never know it to look at her. Her eyes glisten and her smile is both mysterious and prophetic. You would peg her first as a sales representative for a line of feminine products and, indeed, she is, being a leading executive director with skin care giant Nerium International. But in the annals of Michigan cannabis history she became the first woman to own a dispensary when in 2010 she opened Tree City Health Collective, the first of three dispensaries that she built, owned, and operated in Ann Arbor. Dori had an immediate passion for the business that was reflected in her warmth and professionalism as well as in the design and style of her stores, the quality of her organically grown cannabis, and the effort she devoted to the well-being of her team. Tree City Health Collective was voted the #1 dispensary in the state and Dori became known affectionately by her peers and patients as Gangamama. “I see myself as a choreographer, she says. “I see the big picture from a long way out. I hire people with more talent than I have and then honor their talent by giving them the power to use it to benefit the team. As a leader, I believe you rise by lifting up others around you and letting them raise you rather than by stepping over them.” A visionary as well as an entrepreneur, Dori has an active mind that conceptualizes what is needed next to help build the cannabis community...