Sherry Strong is a certified pharmaceutical auditor, an advisory board member for Khemia as well as a past advisory board member of the Kratom Vendors Association, a member of NORML and CA NORML, and a past member of the Yolo County Cannabis Association. Before joining Khemia in 2017, she was a risk management consultant, quality control associate, and an environmental quality assurance professional at Genentech Inc., a quality control microbiologist in project management at Mylan, and a microbiologist at Dey Pharma L.P.
Crediting her success to hard work and having supportive family and friends, Ms. Strong believes her experience in science, manufacturing, and working in the big pharmaceuticals industry makes her ideal for her current profession, which applies science and natural healing. Trusting that her awareness of natural therapeutics has increased over time, she is determined to ensure that the ingredients in both traditional and natural medicines are safe and available to people who need them.
After years of working for multinational pharmaceutical companies, Ms. Strong left the industry, declaring that their priority by law requires them to prioritize shareholders over patients. Forging her own path in line with the values she strongly espouses has led to her current role as the quality systems and compliance manager and partner at Khemia, a social equity business and an environmentally conscious brand of “Cannabis for Women, by Women.” The female founders and leaders are cannabis industry experts who share their expertise about its healing properties. Khemia selects each cannabis product based on its medicinal properties and effects to provide optimal solutions for each person’s unique needs.
Part of Ms. Strong’s area of expertise is microbiology and identifying root causes of manufacturing site and product contaminations. Her responsibilities include writing standard operating procedures, overseeing training for manufacturing personnel, reviewing documentation, ensuring industry standards of safety, sanitation, and adherence to all local and state regulations. She is also a cannabis medical researcher and promotes Whole Plant Plus, by making cannabis-infused formulations and distributing them out for feedback. Making an impact on the business community, Ms. Strong is affectionately referred to as “the Cannabis Queen” by the local Davis Chamber of Commerce. In the coming years, she wants her topical products to be released to the public while continuing to educate the public, especially seniors, about medical cannabis. Understanding that people often approach cannabis with caution, Ms. Strong wants it to become destigmatized and normalized so that individuals can comfortably seek it for potential health benefits.
One of Ms. Strong’s most notable career achievements was in 2020, helping to open Velocity Island Park at the beginning of the pandemic. Velocity Island Park was the only outdoor-themed park open in California during the 2020 pandemic year. California Public Health professionals allowed the opening and operation of the park because of the enforceable pandemic safety controls spelled out in the application process. Ms. Strong first became interested in learning more about cannabis in the mid-1970s while working on political campaigns. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, she recalled, was promoting the decriminalization of marijuana. Living in a community of mostly people of color, she witnessed this population being unfairly arrested, often for cannabis possession, seized an opportunity to distribute literature about cannabis, and became a permanent freelance cannabis advocate. The first in her family to graduate from college, Ms. Strong earned a certificate with honors in cannabis from Oaksterdam University and a Bachelor of Science in food science from the University of California, Davis.
As a dedicated volunteer, Ms. Strong is a cannabis advocate serving more than 40 people. In addition, she regularly works with hobby growers who give her free plants for people in medical need. In her leisure time, she enjoys making topicals in her kitchen, traveling, hiking, reading, and cooking.
