10-15-2023 Women to Watch - Flipbook - Page 17
Wendy Bronfein
Co-founder, Curio Wellness
Fresh off graduation from business school and a vacation in
Colorado, Wendy Bronfein and her father, Michael, noticed in
2014 that a new market was emerging in Maryland: medical
marijuana. The two started Baltimore County-based Curio
Wellness, which remains a family-run cannabis organization
— its flagship dispensary in Timonium is named Far & Dotter,
which is Swedish for “father and daughter.”
On July 1, recreational marijuana became legal for Marylanders 21 and over, which expanded the market beyond
only customers with a medical license, more than doubling
demand. Now that adults can legally walk into her stores,
it’s nice to be “out of the shadows,” said Bronfein, 42, who is
Curio’s chief brand officer and director of public policy.
As Curio has grown, Bronfein has prided herself on always
having products available. She doesn’t want a customer to go
looking for a Curio product they enjoyed and not be able to find
it. The brand’s focus, Bronfein said, is “differentiated products
and customer delight.”
Seven years ago, Curio Wellness started with a team of about
10. Now, it has 350 employees and has expanded into Missouri
with plans for more growth.
“Ultimately, our goal is to see the laws in this country change
such that capital markets open for cannabis businesses, and
we would seek to go public on an American exchange at that
time,” she said.
— Hayes Gardner
LLOYD FOX
Janette Graham
President and founder, No Struggle No Success Inc.
“My story is more relatable than most people realize,” said Janette
Graham, 40, who started No Struggle No Success after one of her sons
was sentenced to 25 years of prison time as a teenager.
Now, the Cuban American mother helps Marylanders with a multitude of services, be it helping prevent youth incarceration to aiding in
people’s transition back to life outside prison. Since 2018, she said, she’s
served more than 500 people and saved the state roughly $5 million.
Graham said only seven people who have used her services have been
rearrested.
“When people need help, if they know where the resources are and
they know how to use those resources and know that someone is a phone
call or drive or text away, it gives them way more strength and comfort
to do what’s right,” she said.
— Sabrina LeBoeuf
AMY DAVIS
WOMEN TO WATCH | 2023 | 17