Announcing the 2022 Changemaker Award Winners

This year, the National Cannabis Festival is excited to present the Community and Policy Changemakers Awards honoring two individuals using their voices and platforms to advance efforts towards more fair and just drug policies in the United States. Learn more about our Changemaker Award winners and make your way to the main stage at NCF to see them receive their awards.

Policy Changemaker Award

Gary Chambers

Louisiana Senate Candidate and Activist

“Do good. Seek justice.” That is the tag line emblazoned across the home page of Gary Chamber’s Louisiana Senate campaign. In the past 6 months, Chambers has blazed a trail for cannabis policy reform, battling back against stigma and hate with pointed campaign ads, that have gone viral and taken him from an outspoken community member in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to the front pages of major publications nationwide.

In January 2022, Chambers grabbed headlines when he released the “Every 37 Seconds” campaign video which featured him sitting center-screen while smoking a blunt and talking about cannabis legalization through the lens of criminal justice. Weeks later, he followed with a second viral moment with a campaign video depicting him burning a confederate flag while sharing harsh truths about voting rights and racial justice in the United States.

We are honored to present Gary Chambers with the 2022 Policy Changemaker Award for his groundbreaking efforts to drive for drug policy reform. MAke sure you’re at. themain stage at 8:30pm when he is presented with the award!

2022 NCF Community Changemaker

Olivia Naugle

Senior Policy Analyst, Marijuana Policy Project

Olivia Naugle is an unsung hero in the DMV cannabis policy reform movement. As a Senior Policy Analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), Olivia leads the Maryland Cannabis Policy Coalition — a group of organizations with the shared mission of equitably and expeditiously ending marijuana prohibition in Maryland. Olivia provides extensive legislative analysis and develops Coalition-branded educational materials used to inform voters and legislators about cannabis reform priorities. The bill summaries and proposed amendments reflecting Coalition member policy priorities that Olivia develops in her leadership roll are used by all Coalition member organizations and are shared with all members of the Maryland General Assembly. As we all know, reflecting consensus opinions is not easy and it takes special leadership qualities to pull it off. Olivia's collaborative approach has allowed her to provide the leadership the Maryland cannabis community needed at this time of profound change, establishing herself as a trusted voice for consumers, regulators, and legislators. During oral testimony time, Olivia is the most frequent recipient of questions from legislators, demonstrating the relationship she has built with them over the past 6 years of legislative engagements. Olivia also monitors legislation and advocates for cannabis policy reform in the District of Columbia, Delaware, Virginia, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Olivia Naugle holds a Master of Arts in Criminology from The George Washington University, is originally from West Virginia, and currently lives in Washington, DC. This year we are proud to recognize her outstanding service to a broad coalition of cannabis policy advocates in the DMV with the NCF Community Changemaker Award.

About the Community Changemakers Award

In October 2017 the D.C. community tragically lost Kevin Cross, a friend, father, brother, son and colleague. Kevin was a much beloved member of the National Cannabis Festival family. He was the kind of person who would give you his last dollar and would take the time to help even when he really didn't have the time to spare. Kevin was a rare kind of person for whom ego played no role. He epitomized the spirit of the best of Washington, D.C. — knowledgeable, caring and always willing to lend a hand. He was truly an unsung hero.

Through this award, we hope to honor Kevin's legacy and the bright light he brought to the world through his kindness and selflessness.

About the Policy Changemaker Award

The Change Makers Award recognizes policymakers on the state or federal level who have advocated for ending cannabis prohibition in the interest of fiscal policy, personal liberty, medical alternatives and/or equal justice.