Parabola Center

About Parabola Center

"If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else." – Toni Morrison

Parabola Center is a nonpartisan think tank of legal professionals and drug policy experts coming together to protect people, not corporations. Our mission is to provide everyone with the education, access, and expertise to support cannabis legalization policies that put people and small businesses first.

Drug laws are changing because of a mass movement of everyday people. Our work is for that civil rights movement, which puts equity and justice at the heart of drug policy and promotes a fair, open, and regulated marketplace.

After 20+ years learning and creating cannabis policy, working on campaigns, practicing law, and serving the public, we'd rather use that experience to benefit everyday people over rich clients. We see our job as keeping the power with the people.

It's a myth that people don't care about policy details -- in our experience, the more people get involved, the better the policy. That’s where Parabola Center comes in. We provide the resources necessary to advocate for concrete, equitable, workable policies that put people ahead of corporate profits.

About the Directors

Shaleen Title
Shaleen Title: Founder and Director

Shaleen Title is an attorney and drug policy activist who has been writing, passing, and implementing cannabis laws for over 20 years and was a top cannabis regulator in Massachusetts from 2017-2020. In addition to her role as founder and chief executive of Parabola Center, she serves as distinguished cannabis policy practitioner in residence at The Ohio State University College of Law’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, where she has authored papers on social equity and anti-monopoly policy. She is a frequent lecturer and consultant on cannabis policy and has testified before governmental bodies around the world about restorative justice in marijuana laws.

Learn more about Shaleen Title

Shanel Lindsay
Shanel Lindsay: Entrepreneurship Director

Shanel Lindsay is an attorney, advocate and serial entrepreneur. In addition to serving as Parabola Center’s Entrepreneur Director, Shanel is Founder and CEO of Ardent Life Inc., a global cannabis hardware and CPG company. Shanel was an author of Question 4, the ballot initiative to legalize adult use cannabis in Massachusetts. Subsequently, she was appointed to the Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Board, serving from 2017-2021. Shanel is also co-founder of the grassroots advocacy group Equitable Opportunities Now.

Learn more about Shanel Lindsay

Laury Lucien
Laury Lucien: Education Director

Laury Lucien is an attorney, professor, serial entrepreneur, and transformational speaker. In addition to her role as Education Director of the Parabola Center, she is the founder of the Legally Great Academy, a consulting and education company that supports entrepreneurs through every step of starting their companies. She was a vendor for the Cannabis Control Commission’s Social Equity Program, providing training and technical support to program participants. She is a founder of a co-located marijuana retailer, manufacturer, and delivery courier in Massachusetts. She was appointed to the Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Board. Laury currently teaches Cannabis Law at Suffolk University Law School and Clark University.

Learn more about Laury Lucien

Advisors

Parabola Center is grateful to our advisors who have been generous with their evidence-based and integrity-based guidance. They collectively bring deep expertise and a wide range of legal, science, and policy perspectives aligned with our goals of equity and justice.