Women's Day Feature: Soyoung Lee

An interview with Soyoung - QA at Mera

Ever wonder who’s responsible for assuring the quality of your weed before it is made available for sale? Soyoung Lee oversees exactly this and makes sure your Amnesia Super Haze is a banger every time. Soyoung is Mera’s co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer. She oversees QA (quality assurance), QC (quality control), regulatory affairs, and product development functions to ensure only the best quality product leaves Mera’s facility. 

Some background on Soyoung: She received her PhD in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Toronto and her BSc in Biochemistry from McMaster University. She then completed her Post-doctoral fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children. From 2012 to 2017, Soyoung began her career in the pharmaceutical industry. She recently received the 2020 Emerging Leader in Pharmaceutical Sciences Award from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto.

Being an influential female in the cannabis industry, we got to sit down with Soyoung and ask her some questions. 

What led you to a career in cannabis?

As my career in the pharmaceuticals industry progressed, I became more and more interested in the business side of the industry. I have always had an entrepreneurial streak and its always been in the back of my mind to start my own enterprise. When I met my current business partner, Zubin Jasavala whom I met through a business relation, I found we have similar values. Zubin introduced me to the field of cannabis, and after much research I was very excited about the potential cannabis had in the future of medicine.

What inspires you in your work?

I have always loved the challenge of solving problems, especially problems that have not been faced before. The cannabis industry is still at the infant state so we always face new problems and I enjoy being creative and coming up with new solutions.

I also love sharing my knowledge. I enjoy helping other scientists become business savvy. I’m familiar with how scientists think and I want to help bridge the gap between science and business. I am passionate about my work and enjoy watching that passion take light in others.

Do you have any advice for women looking to start a career in cannabis?

If I could sit down with women who were thinking of entering the cannabis field, I would let them know that although It’s not going to be easy, and the hours are going to be long, but if you are up for a challenge, it will be a rewarding journey.

Are there any challenges you still face as a female in the industry? Why do you think it's important to have a female perspective in cannabis?

When I started Mera 7 years ago, the cannabis industry was dominated by white males. As with other industries this creates barriers to a female, especially one who is also a minority, and lacking in a business or finance background. Gaining respect in this industry was very tough in the beginning.

Cannabis has a lot to offer to us especially to women. There aren’t that many women oriented products in the market. We definitely need a female’s perspective to develop more products that are desired by women.

How do you practice self-care and/or manage a healthy work-life balance?

Running any business is a stressful endeavour and I’ve had to realize that making time for myself is extremely important. There is no way around the long hours so I’ve had to be conscious of making sure that any time spent with my family is truly quality time. I’ve also recently been introduced to meditation and find it to be really beneficial.

Lastly, Do you have any words to live by that you would like to share with other women?

You have to speak up and be true to who you really are. Don’t hold yourself back to make others happy.

I’ve been reading Glennon Doyle’s memoir Untamed. It really spoke to me: "What the world needs is more women who have quit fearing themselves and started trusting themselves. What the world needs is masses of women who are entirely out of control."; "The braver we are, the luckier we get"; "you are a goddamn cheetah"