About Us

The Basics

Purpose: The ACHRP brings together HR professionals in the cannabis industry to strengthen the field through peer support, shared insights, and professional development. The ACHRP cultivates collaboration among our members to navigate industry challenges, share best practices, develop industry-specific HR standards and raise the bar for HR excellence in our industry.

Structure: Non-Profit

Membership: FREE to those who meet our basic requirements.

History: The ACHRP continues the work our Founder & Executive Director began when she founded the HR Council within the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) in 2015. The preservation of the original mission, purpose, standards, and credibility of the organization required the establishment of an independent association.

The Short Story

The Association of Cannabis HR Professionals (ACHRP) was first envisioned in 2014 by Kara Bradford, a seasoned HR leader who recognized a critical gap in the cannabis industry—companies lacked trained HR professionals and often delegated these responsibilities to inexperienced staff. While busy building her own cannabis-focused business, Kara began laying the groundwork for a dedicated HR community.

In 2015, the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) invited Kara to fold her idea into their structure by founding the NCIA HR Committee. This committee evolved into the HR Council and began publishing resources, hosting webinars, and presenting at conferences. As the industry matured, more experienced HR professionals joined the effort.

However, structural limitations within NCIA, including the lack of an individual membership tier and a pivot to allow sales and marketing professionals to join the committee, fatally compromised the council’s original mission. In response, Kara began hosting independent HR meetups and ultimately exited the HR Council when it became clear to her that it had drifted too far from its original purpose to be worth her continued support.

In late 2023, The ACHRP was formally launched as a nonprofit association to unite and empower HR professionals in the cannabis industry. Today, ACHRP serves as a trusted hub for education, collaboration, and industry advancement, promoting ethical, inclusive, and strategic HR practices that elevate both people and businesses in cannabis.

The Longer Story

The seed of the Association of Cannabis HR Professionals (ACHRP) was first conceived in 2014 by our founder and Executive Director, Kara Bradford, a seasoned human resources professional who recognized a growing need in the rapidly expanding cannabis industry. At the time, few cannabis companies had dedicated HR professionals. Many relied on office managers or bookkeepers to manage human resources functions—often without formal training in employment law, regulatory compliance, or best practices. This gap sparked Kara’s vision to create a nonprofit organization where HR professionals in cannabis could connect, collaborate, and elevate standards across the board.

Although the concept of the ACHRP was born in 2014, Kara was concurrently building her own ancillary cannabis business, limiting her time and resources. Still, she began reaching out to HR professionals within the industry to gauge interest in building a community.

In 2015, while attending an event hosted by the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), Kara shared her desire to form a nonprofit organization for HR professionals in the cannabis industry. A senior staff member at NCIA liked the idea and convinced Kara to fold the organization into the NCIA by founding their HR Committee. At the time, NCIA was the only national industry association serving the cannabis industry, making this an attractive opportunity to build visibility and reach a broader audience.

The HR Committee later evolved into the HR Council. While it took a few years to gain traction, the industry eventually began to attract more seasoned HR professionals. By 2016, there was a strong enough base within NCIA’s membership to formally establish the HR Council. Its work included the collaborative development and sharing of HR best practices through publications, white papers, webinars and live at industry conferences.

Despite these successes, the Council faced structural limitations. The lack of individual memberships made it difficult for many HR professionals to participate, especially as fewer NCIA member companies had dedicated HR staff. Recognizing this challenge, Kara began organizing independent HR Happy Hours and Lunch & Learns in late 2022. These gatherings welcomed HR professionals from across the industry, including those whose companies could not afford NCIA membership or were not involved with the organization. These informal forums became critical spaces for exchanging ideas, problem-solving, and fostering a stronger HR community.

In 2023, over Kara’s objections, NCIA implemented a policy change allowing just about anyone to join the HR Council, including sales and marketing professionals with no background or expertise in HR. The industry was entering a serious downturn and the NCIA was rapidly losing members, so they were looking for any way to appease member companies, including caving to requests to stuff the committee with members whose only goal was the promotion of their ancillary service companies. Seeing as this was completely out of alignment with the original intent of the committee—to serve as a collaborative resource by and for HR practitioners with deep expertise across functional areas—Kara decided it was time to leave.

Later that year, she formally established the Association of Cannabis HR Professionals (ACHRP), realizing the vision she had nurtured for nearly a decade. ACHRP was founded as a nonprofit membership organization with a clear mission:

The Association of Cannabis HR Professionals (ACHRP) is committed to fostering a community of HR professionals within the cannabis industry. As a nonprofit membership organization, we offer a platform for sharing best practices, innovative solutions, and the development of a dynamic, ethical, and inclusive workforce in the cannabis sector. Through collaboration and continuous learning, we empower our members to thrive professionally while advancing the industry’s societal acceptance.

Today, ACHRP stands as a hub for HR professionals to connect, share knowledge, and navigate the complex and evolving challenges of human resources in the cannabis industry. In addition to supporting members, the organization provides valuable insights to the broader industry and public, helping shape a more ethical, professional, and sustainable future for the cannabis workforce.