New international partnership brings together two community-driven organizations committed to elevating women, creating opportunity, and making sure the people shaping cannabis have a voice in its future.
ATLANTA, GA / LONDON, UK – September 14, 2026 – Fat Nugs Magazine (FNM) is proud to officially announce a new Brand Partnership with EmpowHer Cannabis Society (ECS), the international organization founded to connect, support, mentor, educate, and elevate women and gender-marginalized individuals throughout the global cannabis industry. For FNM Founder and Editor-at-Large Dustin Hoxworth, however, this partnership goes well beyond business.
EmpowHer founder Heidi Whitman is someone Hoxworth has come to know as a friend, colleague, relentless advocate, and one of those rare people whose actions consistently back up what she says she believes. Her tenacity, heart, willingness to support others, and unmistakable hustle have helped turn EmpowHer from an idea into an international community.
Founded in Berlin in March 2025, EmpowHer Society was created to address something Whitman witnessed firsthand: talented women doing extraordinary work throughout cannabis and wellness without always having access to the network, visibility, mentorship, or platform their work deserved. Today, ES operates as an international association focused on education and mentoring, advocacy, community building, events, professional development, and creating opportunities for women to participate in shaping the future of cannabis. That mission immediately resonated with the FNM team.
“I love Heidi. I respect the hell out of her, and I respect what she is building because I’ve watched the work behind it,” said Hoxworth. “She has the tenacity, heart, hustle, and the willingness to actually show up for people. EmpowHer isn’t some marketing exercise about supporting women. It’s women supporting women, connecting each other, opening doors, sharing knowledge, and creating opportunities. That matters to me, and it matters to our team. Ten of the 15 people on our team are women. They are editors, photographers, writers, creators, leaders, decision-makers, and an enormous part of why Fat Nugs Magazine is what it is today. Our women are already members of EmpowHer. This partnership just makes official something that already felt completely natural.”
The partnership reflects a larger reality both organizations believe the cannabis industry must continue confronting. Women cannot simply be invited into the room; they need opportunities to lead the room. EmpowHer is building infrastructure around that idea. Its work includes education and mentorship programs, professional networking, policy and public advocacy, business connections, events, and spaces where women can exchange knowledge and build meaningful relationships. Its broader Shecosystem is designed to connect women and allies with mentorship, resources, knowledge, business opportunities, and one another across international markets.
The organization’s network now spans 43+ countries and more than 1,000 women, demonstrating how quickly that community has grown beyond its European beginnings. At the center of that growth is Whitman. With more than eleven years of experience across cannabis, wellness, and regulated industries, Whitman has built her career as a global strategist and connector. Her professional work includes international market expansion, revenue strategy, leadership development, business growth, and creating cross-border relationships between companies and industry leaders.
“This partnership with Fat Nugs Magazine is important because Dustin and his team understand that visibility has to mean something,” said Heidi Whitman, Chairwoman and Founder of EmpowHer Society. “Women across cannabis are already building companies, advancing science, caring for patients, cultivating the plant, shaping policy, creating culture, and leading communities. Our job is to make sure they are connected, supported, and seen. Fat Nugs has built its reputation by giving real people a platform and telling the stories that deserve to be told. Having their team, and particularly the women within FNM, actively involved in our community makes this a genuine partnership. We share the belief that when we create more opportunities for women to lead, the entire industry becomes stronger.”
Through the partnership, FNM will help expand awareness of EmpowHer’s mission, community, events, advocacy, and the women driving change across cannabis internationally. EmpowHer, in turn, brings another global network of voices, experiences, expertise, and stories into FNM’s growing media ecosystem. That exchange is especially important as cannabis continues developing into an increasingly international industry.
EmpowHer’s philosophy is captured in three simple phrases: Many Women. One Plant. Your Community. Its goal is not simply representation for representation’s sake. ES is working to create an industry where women have access to education, mentorship, professional connections, resources, business opportunities, leadership pathways, and meaningful participation in the decisions shaping cannabis globally. For FNM, supporting that work is not a departure from its mission. It is an extension of it. Since its beginning, Fat Nugs Magazine has worked to give space to patients, growers, scientists, advocates, entrepreneurs, artists, creators, legacy operators, small businesses, and community builders whose stories can disappear when an industry becomes focused solely on capital and corporate growth.
This partnership creates another bridge for making sure those voices are heard. And for Hoxworth, there is something particularly meaningful about seeing women from his own team become part of what Whitman is building across the pond. “I have always believed that you don’t prove what you stand for by talking about it. You prove it by who you support, who you give opportunities to, who you put in positions to lead, and who you stand beside when nobody is taking pictures,” Hoxworth added. “Heidi has built something that I want the women on my team to be part of, and they already are. That tells me everything I need to know. We’re proud to put Fat Nugs Magazine behind EmpowHer, and I’m even prouder to call Heidi my friend. Now we get to see what we can build together.”
The partnership between Fat Nugs Magazine and EmpowHer begins immediately, with both organizations looking toward expanded international collaboration, storytelling, events, advocacy, education, and opportunities to elevate women throughout the global cannabis community.
Media Contact
Dustin Hoxworth
Founder/Editor-at-Large
