Brookline Leaders Eye Firing Of Top Black NETA Executive

BROOKLINE, MA — Parallel, the parent company of New England Treatment Access in Brookline, fired the only Black woman on NETA's leadership team, as the Boston Globe reported. In response, Brookline's Select Board is watching.

"We do have the right to ask questions," said Select Board Chair Bernard Greene upon hearing the news. "If their diversity is so thin at the management level that the loss of one person stands out, that is an issue of concern to me and I think to the entire Select Board."

The Globe reported this week that Kim Napoli had been overseeing efforts at boosting equity in the legal marijuana sector, the company cited a conflict of interest and fired her when her husband got a permit to sell recreational marijuana at his Hempest’s store in Northampton, where NETA also runs a dispensary. This, despite the fact that that had been well-known since she joined the team in 2016. The firing comes as the couple is raising money to help pay for cancer treatment for their baby.

"Our company Conflicts of Interest policy does not allow Kim to continue in her current role," a NETA spokesperson said in an email to Patch. "We would not be compliant with our own policy that all our employees are required to follow."

Greene said he was concerned that NETA's parent company — a national chain formerly called Surterra Wellness — may be making decisions that could have negative impacts here in Brookline.

He said the early separation of the local company's former manager and president in combination with the oust of Napoli could be a sign "of distant investors putting pressure on a local subsidiary."

Greene said the board would be paying close attention with NETA presented its diversity plan to them.

Others are calling for a boycott of NETA:

But the company said it is committed to diversity in leadership and across all department levels.

“Our commitment to social equity in cannabis remains steadfast," the NETA spokesperson said, acknowledging Napoli's role in building a foundation for that. "We are involved in local community efforts and initiatives through our NETA Cares team, and those efforts will only strengthen over time. We also have national advocacy partnerships with groups such as the Minority Cannabis Business Association and Cannaclusive that will further advance our social equity programs."

NETA's Northampton marijuana shop was one of the first to sell recreational pot in the state in 2018. NETA Brookline opened in 2016 to sell medical marijuana and then in 2019 began to sell recreational cannabis. In August Sanctuary Medicinals was the second marijuana shop to open in town.

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.