Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Kennedy.
Hi Nicole, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was raised in a family of entrepreneurs, so building something of my own always felt natural. My mother has been a real estate investor for decades; she purchased her first home at just 19. My father owned a sports retail store in Mall 205, and my stepfather ran a thriving meat market that, in the ’90s, served the best fried catfish in town. From them I learned that a business is more than a transaction. It’s a gathering place, a pillar of the community, and a legacy you leave behind.
My own journey began in healthcare. For nearly a decade, from 2004 to 2013, I worked in obstetrics and gynecology, caring for women and families. That experience showed me how deeply health, access, and trust are intertwined, particularly in communities that have long been underserved.
In 2013, I moved into education, teaching Health Science and Medical Terminology to high school students, and I serve as a Dual Credit Educator through Portland Community College. Guiding young people toward careers in healthcare inspired me to found Legacy Enterprise LLC, a healthcare education and workforce development firm that is also a real estate investment company, allowing me to carry my mother’s legacy forward as well.
Green Muse is where all of these paths converge. We opened our doors in 2017 as Portland’s first hip-hop cannabis dispensary, with both recreational and medical licenses, and we are grounded in the 8 pillars of health. We see ourselves as an education-based wellness center: we teach our clients about the terpenes and endocannabinoids in each product so they can choose with intention. We offer free recycling of cannabis containers and vape pens, and we hold our vendors to a rigorous purchasing framework, so every brand on our shelves has earned its place.
We also created Cannabis Health Tech, the first career pathway of its kind, and Green Muse is the first cannabis education program in the nation with a BOLI-certified training program. Our mission goes beyond retail; we are cultivating careers and opening pathways to ownership for our community.
When I reflect on where I am today, I see my mother’s vision, my father’s drive, and my stepfather’s devotion to community, woven together with my clinical background and my love of teaching. Green Muse is how I honor that legacy and ensure our community has a seat at the table in this industry.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The cannabis industry is heavily regulated and chronically underfunded, which makes access to capital extremely difficult. We built Green Muse entirely with our own funds, with no loans and no outside investors. That meant every decision carried real weight, and every dollar had to work hard.
As a first-time entrepreneur, I was learning the rules while running the business at the same time. I taught myself the OLCC regulations inside and out so that we would always remain compliant, because in this industry, there is very little room for error.
Marketing has been another ongoing challenge. Between cannabis regulations and social media platform policies, our accounts have been shut down several times. At our peak, we had grown to nearly 6,000 followers, and losing that community meant starting over again and again. It has pushed us to be creative and to rely on the relationships we build in person, through education, events, and word of mouth.
In 2018, just a year after opening, we launched our first academy with 11 participants. So while we were still finding our footing as new business owners, we were also writing cannabis curriculum and teaching it ourselves. It was an enormous undertaking, but it was worth it. The academy was a success, and many of those first participants are still working in the industry today. For me, that is the true measure of what we built: not just a business, but careers that have lasted.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At Green Muse, we’re a cannabis dispensary, but at our core, we’re an education-based wellness center. We specialize in helping people understand what they’re putting into their bodies. Our team educates every client on the terpenes and endocannabinoids in our products so they can make informed, intentional choices rather than guessing. Everything we do is grounded in the 8 pillars of health, which shows up in the details: we offer free recycling of cannabis containers and vape pens, and we hold our vendors to a rigorous purchasing framework, so every brand on our shelves has met our standards before it earns that space.
We’re also known for our culture. As Portland’s first hip-hop cannabis dispensary, we’ve created a space where people feel seen, welcomed, and represented, and where wellness and culture live side by side.
What I’m most proud of is our workforce development work. We created Cannabis Health Tech, the first career pathway of its kind, and Green Muse is the first cannabis education program in the nation with a BOLI-certified training program. Our first academy in 2018 welcomed 11 participants, and many of them are still building careers in this industry today. One of them went on to earn his doctorate in naturopathic medicine, and he has now returned to teach alongside us in the academy. To watch someone grow from student to doctor to educator within our own program is the fullest expression of what we set out to do. We’re not only serving our community; we’re creating opportunities within it, and those opportunities are coming full circle.
What sets us apart is the lens we bring. My background is in clinical healthcare and education, so I approach cannabis the way a health professional and a teacher would: with an emphasis on knowledge, safety, and empowerment. Very few people in this industry sit at the intersection of healthcare, education, and cannabis retail, and that perspective shapes everything from how we train our staff to how we choose the products we carry. We built Green Muse from the ground up with our own resources, and we’ve stayed true to that vision: a business that heals, educates, and opens doors.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
My approach is simple: I try to learn something new every day, from everyone, and from every situation. It may sound cliché, but it’s genuinely how I’ve grown.
When we started in 2017, there weren’t many mentors to turn to. The industry was so new that everyone was figuring it out together. At first, dispensaries seemed to open on every corner, and then, just as quickly, they began to disappear. The Green Rush turned to slush almost overnight because of oversaturation. You might build a connection with someone you could call with questions, only to learn that their business had closed and they had left the industry altogether.
That experience taught me not to rely on a single mentor. Instead, I built a network of people I could learn from, including peers, regulators, vendors, educators, our staff, and even our clients. My advice is to stay curious and stay open. Mentorship doesn’t always come in a formal package; sometimes it’s a conversation, a mistake you learn from, or a person who’s just one step ahead of you. And once you’ve gained some knowledge, share it. Some of my most meaningful connections came from teaching others, because when you pour into people, they pour back into you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://greenmusecannabis.com
- Instagram: Greenmusewellness and Greenmusecannabis2
