Sasha Nutgent
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Housing Works Cannabis Co.
Director of Cannabis Retail
New York’s burgeoning adult-use cannabis industry may be rife with problems, but Sasha Nutgent is doing everything she can to ensure the state’s first adult-use dispensary remains a beacon of stability amid a tumultuous industry.
Nutgent is the director of cannabis retail for Housing Works, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping marginalized communities, including people living with HIV and AIDS. Nutgent, who has worked for Housing Works since 2015, was looking for a new challenge and stepped into the leadership role when the organization opened New York’s first adult-use dispensary in December 2022.
“Housing Works is a New York staple,” she says. “It’s been around for over 30 years, and it feels more like a family than a corporation. I think that’s what sets us apart from other dispensaries and retailers.”
Nutgent has dealt with numerous challenges and pitfalls since helping launch Housing Works Cannabis Co., especially with early problems in the supply chain. But overall, she’s led a thriving retail business that serves anywhere from 600 people on a slow day to 1,000 when it’s busy, generating about $2 million in revenue per month with a staff of 50 employees.
“It’s a very big community in New York, and I think the more that we support each other as legal retailers, the better we’ll all be,” she says. “So whatever I can share with other businesses, I love talking with them about the challenges, the pitfalls and all the things that could happen.”