HIA Board Welcomes New Director: Katelyn Wiard, U.S. Hemp Roundtable

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 11, 2022

Katelyn Wiard Appointed to HIA Board as U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s Representative

Strategic Partnership with Top Hemp Business Advocacy Group Now Spans Four Eventful Years

VANCOUVER, Washington – The Hemp Industries Association announced that Katelyn Wiard, Director of Operations for the nation’s leading hemp business lobby group the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, has been appointed to the Board of Directors. Katelyn brings significant assets to her service on HIA’s nonprofit Board, including an unparalleled network, deep experience with current and emerging hemp advocacy issues, and a comprehensive understanding of the many state and national regulatory requirements and challenges facing the hemp industry. As part of a strategic partnership formed in 2019, the Roundtable and the HIA each designate a representative to the other’s Board of Directors.

Katelyn Wiard graduated cum laude from the University of Kentucky with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and earned an Executive MBA through the University of Kentucky’s Professional MBA Program . In 2016, Katelyn was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship by the J. William Fulbright Foundation in the Field of Public Policy. In 2019, Katelyn served on the Gubernatorial Transition team for Agriculture Policy.

“We’re all looking forward to the perspectives Katelyn will add to the Board, as a government affairs professional, as a native Kentuckian, and as a woman.” said HIA President Mike Lewis. “In fact, her appointment marks the first time in HIA’s nearly 30-year history that the organization has seen a majority-female Board.” Steve Smith, CEO of CBD pet care products manufacturer Pet Releaf, concluded a two-year stint as the Roundtable’s representative to the HIA Board in February. At 13 seated Directors, all seats on the Hemp Industries Association Board are now occupied.

ABOUT THE HEMP INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION

Founded more than 25 years ago by a group of hemp business owners and activists, The Hemp Industries Association is a membership-based nonprofit trade association that serves all facets of the U.S. hemp industry through education, advocacy, networking, and legal actions. Members include businesses, nonprofits, farms, schools, regulators, activists, advocates, consumers, students, and others who support ethical, sustainable, and inclusive practices for the hemp industry including: transparent labeling, responsible marketing, regenerative organic farming, community service, quality products, scientific accuracy, and concern for human rights. Its mission statement reads: “To advance the hemp economy and educate the market for the benefit of our members, the public, and the planet.”