Rising Stars: Meet Shanetta McDonald

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanetta McDonald.

Hi Shanetta, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m currently a cannabis creative and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles.

After doing PR for nearly nine years, I transitioned to cannabis sales. I was passionate about cannabis and was burnt out from the craziness of PR. So, I got lucky and landed a role at Kikoko, the leading cannabis wellness brand in California. And I’m proud to be a woman of color in the mostly white, male-dominated cannabis industry and love doing the work to smash negative perceptions around cannabis use.

In 2020, I decided to move my passions for wellness and storytelling to the forefront of my life as founder of Motif, a community that supports the healing, well-being and connection among women of color by sharing their stories. Inspired by the shared living experiences from the women of color in my life, I found that opening up and sharing my journey – through writing and conversations with other BIPOC women – was a tool that supported my healing and created invaluable connections with women like me.

I’m also a writer at heart and seek to tell stories typically untold, with my writing being featured in outlets like Honeysuckle Mag, Refinery 29, and Miss Grass.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
My journey hasn’t been smooth, but I’ve always been taken care of. Spiritually speaking, I believe there’s something greater than me working in my favor. And in retrospect, my struggles have been minor and have led me to the path I’m on now, which is one of joy, creativity and personal healing.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m the founder of Motif, a community in which our mission is to support the healing, well-being and connection among women of color by sharing their stories. Women of color benefit from hearing how others like us are navigating the world. Motif realizes that although we are all unique, many of our lives share common threads. Through these shared experiences highlighted in authentic conversations and storytelling, we activate our healing and connection.

I love and am proud of so many things about Motif, but mostly I’m honored to create space for women of color to have their stories told and voices heard. To date, we’ve shared nearly 45 stories since our launch and my intention is to share hundreds more. We serve as a vessel for BIWOC.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
It’s interesting, for most of my life I never considered myself a risk-taker, but looking back, I’ve taken quite a few big risks. I think the difference is that I haven’t considered them risks. Instead, I simply see them as important decisions I’ve made that come with a bit more uncertainty. But, I’m a planner, so I’ve always had a plan (to the best of my ability) to ensure my success. A few of my risks include moving across the country multiple times for work and life changes and also transitioning careers after nine years on one path. So yeah, looking back, I guess they were risks, and I’m so glad I did them.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@ourmotif.co
• Website: ourmotif.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourmotif/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ourmotif
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ourmotif
• Other: https://themotifpodcast.buzzsprout.com/

Image Credits:
Tracy Nguyen