One of the best things about growing a community around #Latinaherstory and #latinasinbusinessNY is that I meet amazing women who continue to inspire me. They take risks and risk-taking is something that, I didn’t know I didn’t like. I’ve become a little bolder, drawing on the strength of their “formation” stories that we share at our events. We all get together after eating and talking and make deliberate space to share our stories. I used the word “deliberate space”, and I am going to come back to that. How do you build deliberate space? You respectfully show an individual that you are in whatever capacity that looks like to you. To us, it looks like sitting in a circle and giving each other eye contact and no phones. Organically sometimes Latinas build deliberate spaces to share like – Noche de damas – at church but most of the time we can’t economically afford the time it takes to build deliberate spaces. Because you must pause. That needs to change, we need to embrace change and build deliberate space around the people and the ideas we support. And in those spaces with your colleagues or with your elders or sisters, give each other space to be flawed, to speak Spanglish, to not know, and most of all to be ambitious. Our community has a rich history in the United States and some of that history frames the ending of marijuana prohibition differently for us. As a result, we need to build deliberate spaces to learn about what this means for our community both from an economic perspective and social justice perspective. Marijuana prohibition impacted the lives of the children whose family members were prosecuted under its law. One such child has now grown into a beautiful strong Puerto Rican woman, and she has decided, properly, to use the end of marijuana prohibition in the United States to her economic benefit. If that’s not economic restorative justice I don’t know what is. She’s braved, her name is Dianelix Rivera and she is the CEO and owner of Loud Sirnez Cannabis Fashion Boutique. Why is this important?  She is not looking to cut even for the impacts that marijuana prohibition marked on her family’s economy, she’s looking to overcome economically and form a new future. Loud Sirnez Cannabis Fashion Boutique is loud proud and sharing information about the positive and medicinal effects of Cannabis. Resistance can be an outfit and Dianlex knows that. Restorative Justice is defined as Restorative justice is a response to wrongdoing that prioritizes repairing harm. It can be defined in three action terms: Encounter, Repair, and Transform. As a community, we know that persecuting someone for the possession of a plant that has been used for thousands of years as medicinal is wrong (encounter), we know the policies that were shaped to enforce marijuana prohibition were unjust in that they specifically targeted communities of color; we know that to reverse these racist policies we need people impacted by those racist policies at the table (repair), we know we need to transform our understanding of Marijuana. Dianelix Rivera is a pioneer. She is less than thirty years old, a student of the world, the oldest of four children, and a Latina whose Puerto Rican heritage inspired her to be unafraid of the unknown. Maria upturned her life, and Covid impacted her, as a student she has had successes and gained perspective. At present, she is also enrolled in a program for small businesses at our SBA at SUNY Buffalo State College. Ageism is defined as prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age. We must accept two things as a community (1) cannabis is now legal and a source of economic opportunity (2) young people will lead the way. Statistically, Latinas will grow the marijuana, but will not be afforded a seat at the table to discuss it. INTERVIEW: Where were you born and what were the values in your home? I was born and raised in Puerto Rico predominantly by my single mother of four (4). I was the oldest and our values consisted of family unity, humility, and hard work. My momma worked a lot and was an example of perseverance and taught me, in combination with my own experiences, to never give up. Her determination in raising a family with limited support through also pursuing a professional career as a pharmacy technician and studying to be a nurse while also providing was very inspiring and taught me lots of strength and gratitude.  What was your experience like as a student?  I consider myself more a student of life than traditional schooling systems. Theoretical learning takes special discipline; however, I have found that in my experience, I have learned more through the mastery of following my path.  My educational resources vary, I was in pursuit of my bachelor’s degree in Communications & Journalism at the University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla, however, did not get the opportunity to finish the program due to my moving to Buffalo after losing everything in Hurricane Maria in 2017. When I moved to Buffalo, I came to continue my degree but through the paths of life, real-life factors, and financial needs, roads lead to a different pursuit. I can proudly say my approach to being a student has been of extreme value to me in my journey. I am currently participating in a program with the Small Business Center Development and Buffalo State College and am consistently looking to grow and expand my knowledge through workshops, mastermind alliances as well as mentors who have helped shape and guide my trajectory. I strongly believe learning from natural laws, art, and entrepreneurship in a combination with consistently reading books has made me a good student of life.  3 What was your first or favorite job?  My favorite job before entrepreneurship was in the wireless and marketing industry, being part of the T-Mobile events and social media team. Hospitality was my least