Stevie Palmateer, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at LeafLink, was recently honored at the Green Market Report Women in Cannabis Awards in New York. Her leadership in cannabis technology has been instrumental in advancing payment solutions and engineering excellence within the industry.
Pioneering Cannabis Technology
With a 15-year career in technology and computer science, Palmateer joined LeafLink in late 2020. Her motivation was to contribute to social and cultural change through technology. She wanted to be part of an industry focused on helping people and undoing the wrongs from the War on Drugs.
Driving Innovation at LeafLink
As CTO, Palmateer oversees a team of 50 full-time employees and manages enterprise, platform, and product engineering, as well as IT operations. She played a key role in the rollout of LeafLink’s Flex and Direct Pay payment products, achieving aggressive timelines despite limited access to third-party accelerators.
Challenges and Optimism
Palmateer acknowledges the challenges faced by the tech and cannabis sectors. However, she remains optimistic about the industry’s future, particularly regarding potential cannabis rescheduling. While rescheduling alone won’t solve all industry challenges, she hopes it will catalyze further reforms, especially around access to capital.
