Cherissa Jackson
CEO/Founder
We Decode
Cherissa Jackson served 23 years of active-duty military service with 10 of those years as an U.S. Air Force Nurse. She is a veteran of both Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, having served a total of 3 combat deployments where she honed her expertise as a battlefield clinician. She is known as “America’s Combat Nurse” because of her extensive combat experience.
Following her honorable service, Jackson became an ambassador and advocate for persons with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She was inducted into the SHEROES United Organization Hall of Fame and traveled to Rome, Italy in November 2016 in order to collaborate with the Vatican, the Nation of Congo, and the city of Amatrice, Italy to help advance a global discussion on eliminating stigmas associated with PTSD. She has a non-profit that saves the lives of women from cervical cancer called “Project Give Hope” and has travelled internationally to Uganda in 2017, and 2018 and will be traveling to Ghana and Nigeria in 2023.
Jackson is the author of “At Peace Not in Pieces,” a bestselling memoir that outlines her principles of coping with her own PTSD challenges as a combat veteran and nurse. She was named one of “25 Individuals of Influence” in the June 2018 issue of PTSD magazine and joined the HillVets 100 list of top influencers of 2018. Cherissa also won the “Daily Record Top 100 Maryland Women for 2016” for her efforts with PTSD. Cherissa was awarded the first “Passion Award” at the AVB 2019 (American Veterans Ball). She is 2020’s recipient of “The Vettys” (Veterans Award) for excellence in Mental Health. Cherissa won the “Star Nurses Nightingale Award” amongst 600 nominees in September 2020. This award was a collaboration between Washington Post and American Nurses Association. Most recently, she become one of the founding members of the “Black Nurses Collaborative”.
She is the current Chief Medical Executive at AMVETS (American Veterans), one of the largest Veteran Service Organization in the country. She leads the organization’s HEAL Program, which strives to confront the risk factors that lead to crisis and veteran suicide. She created the “Veterans’ Alternative Healthcare Summit” in 2021 featuring speakers across the world discussing the benefits of cannabis for Veterans. There were over 25K engagements in this 8 hour conference. Cherissa is a trailblazer for which other Veteran Service Organizations are following her lead.
Cherissa holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Nursing from the Medical University of South Carolina and is a second year student at the University of Maryland’s Masters of Science program in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics. She will graduate on May 17,2023 with a Masters of Science Degree.
She launched “We Decode LLC” on 4/20/2022. This is her cannabis business that is mapping medicine’s healthiest outcomes using DNA sequencing. Her wellness reports and precise cannabinoid matching is saving customers time and money. The website is: www.wedecode.me Cherissa was featured in the August 2022 and December 2022 edition of “High Times” Magazine and the Baltimore Business Journal. She recently caught the attention of Amazon BEN and Atlanta Hawks who supported “Operation Give Hope” to provide the DNA kits to Veterans. She also received a generous donation of Martha Stewart’s CBD gummies from Canopy Growth Distribution Company to distribute to her network. Most recently Cherissa appeared on the cover of “Cannabis & Tech Today” magazine with a 3 page article. The magazine was showcased at the 2023 NECANN cannabis conference. The magazine will hit newsstands on April 6, 2023.