Kimberly Cargile started out with A Therapeutic Alternative as a volunteer yoga instructor and cultivator. She was appointed as the Executive Director in 2012 and re-opened the dispensary in 2013. She has been dedicated to advocating for the medical cannabis industry in California for over a decade.

When Kimberly graduated from Humboldt State University in 2006 as a Presidential Scholar on the Dean’s List, she moved back to Sacramento to begin her career.  She earned invaluable industry and business management experience as the general manager of one of California’s first dispensaries.  There she had an opportunity to work behind the camera interviewing medical cannabis patients for a documentary.  During that special time she spent with those patients she realized that she had a responsibility to stand up for those that are too sick or too scared to stand up for themselves. So she decided to start volunteering for Americans for Safe Access and began organizing patients and advocates for City Council meetings, County Board of Supervisor meetings, Planning Commission meetings, State Senate and Assembly meetings, protests and signature drives. 

In 2009, Kimberly started working as a business consultant for the medical cannabis industry.  Over the years she has helped open or reopen dozens of cannabis businesses including dispensaries, cultivation sites, manufacturing companies and garden supply companies. Kimberly has been instrumental in advancing industry standards with her position on the boards of many advocacy groups over the years.

At her current position at A Therapeutic Alternative, Kimberly is proud of the fact that her team can help a member find the product that will relieve his or her symptoms based on the specific cannabinoid profile and administration technique.  She has been commended by various City, County and State government agencies for operating a model dispensary.

In 2013, Kimberly was voted one of the top ten most influential people in the cannabis community in Sacramento by Sacramento Alternative Magazine. In 2016 Kimberly was nominated for the Luminary Award by the National Association of Women Business Owners. And just last year, Kimberly was voted by the Sacramento News and Review as one of 2019’s Top 5 Women to Watch and the Sacramento Business Journal’s award for Women Who Mean Business. 

Kimberly is a published writer for DOPE magazine, West Coast Leaf and Health & Fitness Magazine.  She has been interviewed by many publications including West Coast Cannabis, Sacramento News & Review, The North Coast Journal, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento Bee Newspaper, Comstalks Magazine, Girls on the Grid and Sacramento Alternative Magazine.  She has been a guest of KVIE public television, Soapbox public television and Health Radio, Capital Public Radio and sat on panels at the 2015 National Cannabis Industry Association’s Business Conference, the 2015 Cannabis Business Conference and Expo, the 2015 Awaken America Conference, the 2016 National Cannabis Industry Association’s Business Conference, and the 2017 Cannabis Business Conference & Expo.

Kimberly believes that education is the basis of change.  She has organized the first class on Cannabis at Sacramento City College, The Chemistry of Cannabis.  She currently teaches the section on cannabis in the Alcohol and Other Drugs Health Course at Sacramento State University on a semester basis. 

Kimberly has worked hard over the years to continually learn about the science, law and politics of medical cannabis.  Her passion for helping others has fueled her desire to stay in the industry through some very hard times.  In 2015, Kimberly worked tirelessly on the State regulations; giving tours of A Therapeutic Alternative to numerous Senate and Assembly offices,  California Department of Fee and Tax Administration, California Department of Public Health, California Department of Food and Agriculture, the Bureau of Cannabis Control, just to mention a few. Kimberly is respected for her knowledge, ethics and compassion.  Her experience has earned her the title as an expert in the medical cannabis industry.