Eric Steenstra is a hemp industry pioneer, co-founding hemp clothing and lifestyle brand Ecolution with Steve DeAngelo in 1992. Eric was a founding member of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and served as Executive Director from 2008 to 2016. Eric now serves as the president of Vote Hemp, the political advocacy organization that he co-founded in 2000 and Vice President of the California Hemp Council. Under Eric’s leadership, Vote Hemp lead the effort to pass hemp farming legislation at the federal and state level. Vote Hemp also played an integral role in the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill including fully removing hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and recognizing Native American tribes sovereign right to regulate hemp production.