40 Under 40: Sonia Hendrix

In 2017, Sonia Hendrix was asked to take on a campaign for a company rebranding itself as Dosist. It would mark a wild new chapter in her already illustrious career. Today, her bi-coastal company Gallery PR is regarded as one of the top public relations agencies in the cannabis world. While not solely focused on the plant, Hendrix’s firm has nonetheless played a seminal role in shaping the mainstream media’s interest and understanding of cannabis, from correcting rampant misinformation during 2019’s “Vapegate” to collaborating across the aisle to get dispensaries and delivery services classified as essential during the first weeks of the global pandemic. A firm believer in access to safe cannabis, Hendrix acknowledges that working as a cannabis publicist can present some uniquely challenging obstacles. 

“I have navigated my clients through shootings, through robberies, through kidnappings,” Hendrix says. “That’s not something you do as a fashion publicist. I’ve been baptized by fire in ways most publicists in other sectors are not. My advice for anybody who wants to do PR in cannabis: stay nimble; be ready to move with a market that’ll change because it’s extremely volatile. Oh, and stay curious.”