Five Questions: Heather Jackson, Co-Founder and Board President for Realm of Caring (RoC)


This month we’re excited to spotlight Heather Jackson, Co-Founder and Board President for Realm of Caring (RoC), a nonprofit focused on cannabinoid research and patient advocacy.
One of the perks of working at a cannabis PR and marketing agency is getting to know our awesome clients—and getting an insider’s look at some of the most innovative brands and companies out there. In this monthly feature series we ask a different client the same five questions, and we share those tasty tidbits with our readers.
This month we’re excited to spotlight Heather Jackson, Co-Founder and Board President for Realm of Caring (RoC), a nonprofit focused on cannabinoid research and patient advocacy.
Five Questions
What is your favorite part about working at Realm of Caring?
My passion and profession now align. There is nothing better than ending the day with no potential left in it, and truly knowing we have helped to improve people’s lives.
What was your most interesting job before joining Realm of Caring?
The most interesting job I had before RoC was a nonprofit child development center that provided education for children and their families. Helping to shape young people’s minds is awesome, but if you want to sit at the feet of Yoda, talk to a kid! They say the most interesting things.
Where can we find you after work?
Snuggled up with the family! Reading, playing a game, or sitting in front of the fireplace.
Tell us your go-to karaoke song:
“Respect” by Aretha Franklin
What advice would you give to other industry professionals?
Just do the next right thing. Lead with your heart. Discover your values and let them guide the way.

A proud Colorado native and one of Denver Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs, Ricardo Baca is a serial entrepreneur, three-time Marketer of the Year, 24-year veteran journalist, two-time TEDx speaker, and drug policy architect.
Ricardo launched Clio-winning PR and marketing firm Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency® in 2016 to super-charge businesses throughout the U.S., Latin America and Europe. Grasslands was awarded a Clio Award for its public relations program, two Emjays Awards for Public Relations Agency of the Year, and a Small Business Award from the Denver Business Journal.
In 2023, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis appointed Ricardo to the state’s first-ever Natural Medicine Advisory Board to contribute to policy development around the state’s psychedelics framework. In 2025, Ricardo launched Buy Colorado Day in partnership with the State Legislature, creating a new holiday—and powerful economic driver—that celebrates innovative Colorado brands of all kinds via consumers all over the world.
Capping off a wide-spanning career in journalism, Ricardo made international headlines as The Denver Post’s first-ever Cannabis Editor in 2013, as seen in the feature-length documentary film Rolling Papers. Numerous accolades followed, including Ricardo being named one of Fortune magazine’s 7 Most Powerful People in America’s Marijuana Industry, one of Brookings Institution's 12 Key People to Watch in Marijuana Policy, and one of Time magazine’s 140 best Twitter feeds.
In 2022, Ricardo co-founded Colorado fine art biennial Biome with the mission of celebrating fine art via community, inclusivity and biennial exhibition. Before that, Ricardo co-founded Denver music festival The Underground Music Showcase, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025.
Ricardo is proud to sit on the Board of Directors for Colorado Public Radio, where he serves as Treasurer, and on the Board of Advisors for the reMind Psychedelics Business Forum.
A regular speaker at SXSW, Ricardo still contributes columns and op-eds to top publications, including Rolling Stone, Nosh, the New Hope Network and MJBizDaily. He has also been interviewed by The New York Times, The View, The New Yorker, This Week With George Stephanopoulos, The Colbert Report and NPR’s All Things Considered.
Ricardo lives in Denver with his wife, two dogs and two cats.