Bridget Hennessey

Heralded by Variety Magazine as one of “13 Women Pushing the Budding Marijuana Industry Forward,” Bridget Hennessey leads the government relations team at Weedmaps, the tech platform powering the worldwide legal cannabis industry. 

Through WM Policy, which Hennessey describes as a cannabis policy “think-and-do tank” serving legislators, regulators, policymakers, advocates, patients, parents, veterans, and others, she and her team have amassed an impressive record of state and local cannabis legalization wins. Until cannabis is legalized at the federal level, that work–and the important social equity aspect of it–remains Hennessey’s focus.

Hennessey leads strategies to ensure the new legal cannabis industry is inclusive, particularly for those disproportionately and negatively impacted by the US government’s failed “War on Drugs”. She also plays a leading role in expanding access to medical cannabis for patients and veterans. She often says that being the mother of three children under the age of 10, and the wife of a combat veteran informs her cannabis policy priorities. 

Prior to joining Weedmaps in 2017, Hennessey spent 15 years honing her government relations, campaign management, and legislative strategy skills in the transportation industry.

She is a frequent editorial contributor to newspapers and online publications and commentator for radio/television public affairs programs. Hennessey is also a passionate advocate for women in both the cannabis and technology industries, and is the current president and one of the founders of WoW: Women of Weedmaps, the company’s highly impactful Employee Resource Group. Besides the Emerge Board, she is a board member of the National Foundation for Women Legislators and the Marijuana Policy Project. 

Hennessey is a graduate of Fairfield University in Connecticut and holds a Master of Public Policy from George Washington University in Washington, DC.