Acacea Lewis is a student, researcher and alchemist of herbal and entheogenic medicines. Early in her development as an aspiring physicist, she took her academic perspectives of science to the mushroom, in order to learn more expansive first hand information about the quantum hyper dimensional realms and the multiverse of plants, animals, and fungi we live in. Acacea left  the academic world primarily due to the lack of diversity/opportunities to perform academic level consciousness based scientific research. As a result, she is now working alongside her peers and students in Divine Master Alchemy classes, helping spread her continued research on the science of consciousness, ancestral healing, genetic reprogramming, and the history of ancient and modern civilizations that use plants, zooneirogica and fungi as medicines, sacraments, and healing tools.

Adam Strauss is a comedian, writer and performer whose new show Something Is Wrong with Adam Strauss is currently running at The Marsh Theater in San Francisco. The New York Times says The Mushroom Cure, Adam’s previous show about treating his severe OCD with psychedelics, “mines a great deal of laughter from disabling pain”, The Chicago Tribune calls it “arrestingly honest and howlingly funny”, Michael Pollan calls it “brilliant, hilarious and moving” and Time Out New York named it a Critics’ Pick. Adam won the New York Fringe Festival’s Overall Excellence Award for Solo Performance, The Eddy Award for Best Solo Show in San Francisco, and the Leffe Craft Your Character Storytelling Competition. He’s lost too many things to mention here.

Andrea is a founding member of the Discovery Sessions conference. While her professional career has been focused on events and venue management, she credits her relationship with plant medicines as foundational and the best therapy she’s ever had. Andrea currently serves as the General Manager at Non Plus Ultra, sister company to The Midway.

Ann Harrison is a journalist based in San Francisco. She has covered business, science and politics for numerous news organizations including Wired News, Fast Company, Agence France-Presse and several National Public Radio member stations. After working for several years as a technology reporter, Ann began writing about grey market economies. In 2020, Ann co-founded Lucid News where she presently serves as managing editor.

Annie Oak is the founder of the Women’s Visionary Congress and co-founder of the nonprofit Women’s Visionary Council. She is a science and technology journalist and works with researchers who analyze data about human rights violations. Creator of the Oakland, CA-based Full Circle Tea House, she is also co-founder of Take 3 Presents, which produces immersive art events. Annie is deeply interested in risk reduction and conflict resolution protocols that reflect best practices in visionary communities. She looks forward to the next Women’s Congress in 2022.

Over 40 years of intentional family lineage, academic and global religious studies guide Bob “Otis” Stanley’s entheogenic Sacrament work. Degrees and post-graduate studies include psychology, religious studies, sociology and Divinity (MDiv, University Chicago). Bob was founding Chairperson for the first successful all plants and fungi “Decriminalize Nature” initiative (Oakland), is Senior Pastor and Chief Garden Steward for Sacred Garden Community Church, co-founder of Sacred Plant Alliance, and Chair for Alma Institute. Bob’s passions include sacred gardening, Divine presence, Least Dogma, positive post-modernism, radical inclusion, bicycling and playing his grandma’s violin.

In addition to an active neuroanesthesia practice, Dr. Boris Heifets directs both clinical and basic neuroscience research programs, bridging neuroscience, psychiatry and anesthesiology. His research is focused on deconstructing the neural mechanisms involved in an emerging class of rapid-acting psychiatric therapies, like ketamine, MDMA and psilocybin. His lab investigates these compounds’ neuroplastic potential, and is working to develop therapeutics that are precise, safe, and scalable. Dr. Boris Heifets has a had a lifelong interest in neuroscience, non-ordinary states of consciousness, and neuroplasticity. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine, and, by courtesy, in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford School of Medicine. He received his undergraduate degree in neuroscience from Yale University, M.D./Ph.D. degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and completed anesthesiology residency and a neuroanesthesiology fellowship at Stanford Hospital.

Eleana Baskouta is an interdisciplinary scholar from Greece, blending the intersection of cultural anthropology, ethnomusicology, psychology, and international development. Her approach is deeply grounded in a desire to uncover and understand the complex layers of psyche across these disciplines. Currently based in San Francisco as the Director of Major Gifts at the California Institute of Integral Studies, she is also the Executive Director & Co-Founder of the Greek Psychedelic Society with a mission to destigmatize psychedelics in Greece. Eleana completed her Master’s degree in Development Economics and International Relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She also holds a B.Sc. in Business & Economics from the American College of Greece and a BA in Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Athens/School of Philosophy, where her ethnographic field research thesis delved into the ceremonial use of ayahuasca and shamanic Icaros within the Shuar and Achuar tribes of Ecuador. Additionally, she holds a degree in Classical Piano, is deeply immersed in the study of the ancient Greek lyre, and passionately investigates ancient Greek music and mythology. Her academic journey includes mentorship by Professor Charalambos Spyridis, exploring Pythagorean esotericism and the harmonic and rhythmic theories of ancient Greek music. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Integral Psychotherapy at California Institute of Integral Studies. Eleana’s professional career traverses several domains with experience in philanthropy and partnership development across respected organizations, including sectors like psychedelic advocacy, international development, and diplomatic relations.

Erik Davis is an American journalist, critic, podcaster, counter-public intellectual whose writings have run the gamut from rock criticism to cultural analysis to creative explorations of esoteric mysticism. He is the author of Techgnosis: Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Age of Information, The Visionary State: A Journey through California’s Spiritual Landscape, Nomad Codes: Adventures in Modern Esoterica, and High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the Seventies.

Hamilton Morris is an American journalist, documentarian, and scientific researcher. He is the creator and director of the television series Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia, in which he investigates the chemistry, history, and cultural impact of various psychoactive drugs.

Ismail Lourido Ali, JD (he/him or they/them) has been personally utilizing psychedelics and other substances in celebratory and spiritual contexts for over fifteen years, and has been actively participating in the drug policy reform movement for a decade. Ismail is the Director of Policy & Advocacy at the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and co-founded the Psychedelic Bar Association. Ismail advises, is formally affiliated with, or has served in leadership roles for numerous organizations in the drug policy reform ecosystem, including Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Chacruna Institute, the Ayahuasca Defense Fund, and Alchemy Community Therapy Center (formerly Sage Institute) in the California Bay Area.

James McConchie is the owner of the Haight St Shroom Shop. He started growing mushrooms at home after his wife used turkey tail mushrooms as a part of her cancer treatment in 2014. HSSS is a small workshop/gallery space dedicated to supplying home mushroom cultivation supplies and educational workshops. In addition to classes HSSS works on collaborative holistic products with local partner and foray walks foraging for local fungi and healing plants in nearby Golden Gate Park.

James Fadiman is an American writer known for his research on microdosing psychedelics. He and Robert Frager co-founded the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, which later became Sofia University), where he was a lecturer in psychedelic studies. Fadiman received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1960 and a Master’s degree and a doctorate (both in psychology) from Stanford University, the PhD in 1965. While in Paris in 1961, his friend and former Harvard undergraduate adviser, Ram Dass (then known as Richard Alpert), introduced him to psilocybin. As a graduate student at Stanford, Fadiman was Stewart Brand’s LSD guide on Brand’s first LSD trip in 1962, at Myron Stolaroff’s International Foundation for Advanced Study in Menlo Park, California. While living in Menlo Park, Fadiman and his wife were Ken Kesey’s Perry Lane neighbors and friends. In the early sixties Fadiman was also part of the team in the psychedelics in problem-solving experiment at the International Foundation for Advanced Study, which was abruptly halted in 1966.[ Fadiman’s 2011 book The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide discussed the use of psychedelics in sub perceptual doses and unknowingly helped to drive the modern microdosing movement. Fadiman is a proponent of microdosing. He writes and lectures on the topic and collects anecdotal reports from those who practice it.

Joe Moore co-founded Psychedelics Today in 2015 with Kyle Buller. As CEO, Joe has created one of the world’s best known psychedelic podcasts, blogs and training platforms. Joe combines twenty years of avid research and training in psychedelics with twenty years of experience in software and multinational project management. Joe is an expert in transpersonal breathwork and much sought after international speaker on the intersecting subjects of psychedelic medicine and healing, breathwork, drug policy, medical innovation, international justice and environmentalism.

Jordan Gruber is an author, collaborative writer and editor, and has forged and sculpted authoritative volumes in forensic law, financial services, and self-development. A graduate of Binghamton University and the University of Virginia School of Law, he founded the Enlightenment.com website and is now a leading advocate of rebound exercise through the SuperBound Project.  Gruber has worked as the managing editor of GNOSIS Magazine (a highly regarded journal of the Western inner traditions), written articles for WIRED magazine, worked as a consultant for AOL, and worked for the Office of Chief Counsel at NASA’s Ames Research Center. He is also the co-author of The Bounce: The Complete SuperBound® Guidebook to 21st-Century Rebound Exercise and co-author of Your Symphony of Selves: Discover and Understand More of Who We Are, written alongside James Fadiman

Silicon Valley-based biohacker and entrepreneur Kaia Roman is the bestselling author of The Joy Plan (featured on the TODAY Show) and host of the Psyched podcast. Kaia began her training as a personal growth facilitator at age 11 and has led retreats and classes for groups all over the world. She’s also a Venture Partner at SeedFund Capital, empowering women to build and invest in psychedelic medicine businesses.

Matias Serebrinsksky is a founding partner at PsyMed Ventures, an early-stage fund investing in frontier mental and brain health technologies. He also co-hosts Business Trip, a podcast exploring the future of mental health and wellness.

Matthew is a neuroscientist with a three-decade-plus career that includes data science, preclinical pharmacology, genomics, clinical trials, and drug development. Matthew started his career in the first lab to study the long-term effects of MDMA on the brain. He next moved to a psychopharmacology lab at UCSF that focused on clinical trials for substance use disorder pharmacotherapies. Matthew later consulted with MAPS, drafting regulatory documents to help them gain FDA permission to start Phase 2 trials with MDMA. Other career highlights include work to develop the formulation for Suboxone, conducting the first federally funded clinical studies of MDMA, and conducting the first modern clinical study of the related compound MDA. Before starting Tactogen, Matthew was a Director of Data Science and Engineering at Genentech (the company that started the biotech industry, now a subsidiary of Hoffmann-La Roche).

Rev. Maya Jaguar (aka Gina Rudan): Executive coach, cultural alchemist and thought leader. Pioneer of innovative diversity programs, including Google’s Immerse Virtual Reality series. Best-selling author of “Practical Genius.” Currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Ketamine Research Foundation. Recognized as Chief Inspiration Officer for Entrepreneurial Barbie by Mattel Inc in 2015. Also is an ordained interfaith Reverend with a passion for embracing spiritual traditions in her daily life. 

Mikaela de la Myco comes from a blended ancestry. Her ancestors come from southern italy, the caribbean and mexico and she uplifts their perspectives in the space of entheogens.In her everyday life, Mikaela serves as a mother, an educator, a folk herbalist, a community organizer and entheogen facilitator in occupied Kumeyaay & Luiseno territory, also known as San Diego, CA.She cares for all people with ancestral healing ways and holds special focus in serving small-businesses, cooperatives, non-monogamous people, psychedelic families, femmes and people seeking full-spectrum herbal womb care. She has collaborated as an educator and activist with hundreds of companies and organizations within the sacred earth medicine space and is well known as a maternal caretaker in the community. ​ Her platforms, Mama de la Myco and the mushWOMB generate educational content that weaves the tapestry of medicine woman, psychedelic mother and sacred hoe. In all her creations, Mikaela de la Myco has made the commitment to rematriate entheogens by advocating for ethics and womb to tomb psychedelic literacy. Her most recent movement, Mothers of the Mushroom is an open source research and resources project meant to further permission the world into remembering that psychedelics are for families.

Dr. Daley has over 40 years of experience in analytical toxicology, entomology, plant physiology, and environmental restoration technology. He has over sixty peer-reviewed publications in integrated pest management, plant photosynthesis, environmental chemistry, analytical instrumentation, and the pharmacology of psychedelics. He was a career scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from 1984 to 2014. He is a Co-founder, Chief Science Officer and Director of Analytical Science at the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute in Lafayette and Berkeley, CA, where his work focuses on the discovery chemistry and development pharmacology of psychoactive and psychedelic drugs. With Alexander Shulgin and Tania Manning, he co-authored The Shulgin Index, Volume One: Psychedelic Phenethylamines and Related Compounds, published by Transform Press in 2011.

Robin became the Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professorship in Neurology and Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco in 2021 and founded the Carhart-Harris Lab in 2023. He moved to Imperial College London in 2008 after obtaining a PhD in Psychopharmacology from the University of Bristol. At Imperial, he oversaw human brain imaging studies with LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and DMT, and several clinical trials of psilocybin therapy for various disorders, including depression, anorexia, and fibromyalgia syndrome, publishing in such journals as The New England Journal of Medicine and Nature Medicine. Robin founded the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London in April 2019, the first such Center. Robin spoke at the World Economic Forum in 2019, was named among the top 31 medical scientists by The Times newspaper in 2020, was listed in TIME magazine’s ‘100 Next’ in 2021, was voted psychedelic researcher of the year in 2021; and was listed in Vox Magazine’s Future Perfect 50 in 2023. Robin sold rights to his first book to Ebury Publishing and Scribner Books in 2023.

Scarlet Masius is Head of Community at Tactogen, a public benefit corporation that is developing a next-generation of MDMA-like medicines. Prior to joining they ran a creative consultancy, working with MAPS, Esalen, Omidyar Network and other orgs to build creative and participatory communities. They previously was on the board of North Star, which is focused on business ethics in the psychedelic ecosystem. They are trained as a psychedelic peer support specialist, and care deeply about having meaningful education, training and harm reduction present in the evolving psychedelic ecosystem.

Steven Huang is MAPS’ first Director of Social Justice, leading teams across the organization to address the psychedelic ecosystem’s inequality challenges, as well as its opportunity to provide for collective liberation. Steven has designed and implemented DEI strategies for organizations across diverse industries, geographies and sizes. At MAPS, Steven is focused on bringing psychedelic healing to all, including marginalized communities, while simultaneously honoring the indigenous cultures from where plant medicines originate. Steven uses psychedelics to better understand one’s innate talents and is consistently inspired by the psychedelic community that has paved the way for a queer, Chinese-American, gender non-conforming activist to join forces with the pioneers of psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Vince Kadlubek is an American entrepreneur and the co-founder of Meow Wolf, an arts and entertainment company based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Kadlubek studied film and psychology at the University of Nevada, before moving to Santa Fe. In 2008, he co-founded Meow Wolf with a group of artists and creatives, with the goal of creating immersive and interactive art experiences that blur the boundaries between art, technology, and entertainment.Meow Wolf has grown into a leading player in the US arts and entertainment industry, with its flagship exhibit, the House of Eternal Return, attracting over a million visitors since its opening in 2016. Meow Wolf has also expanded to other locations, including Las Vegas, Denver, and Phoenix.Kadlubek has been recognized for his contributions to the arts and entertainment industry, including being named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2017. He is also a sought-after speaker and has given talks at events such as SXSW and TEDx.

Alleged to have produced “90% of the world’s LSD,” William Leonard Pickard is a former drug policy fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, research associate in neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, and deputy director of the Drug Policy Analysis Program at UCLA. With two life sentences without parole, he served 20 years in maximum security federal prisons, and was released in 2020.His book “The Rose of Paracelsus” – written in pencil while imprisoned – is published by Synergetic Press (Santa Fe/ London), and in Italian translation by Mondadori (Milan) His 1996 prediction of the fentanyl epidemic, and recommendations for prevention, were confirmed by the RAND Corporation in its seminal volume “The Future of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids.”Currently he is a senior advisor for JLS Fund II LP and the Fireside Project. He is a research affiliate with Harvard Law School, Petrie-Flom Center on Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics, Program on Law and Regulation.

Andrés Gómez Emilsson MSc. is the Director of Research and Consciousness Researcher at Qualia Research Institute where he answers questions regarding consciousness and each individual’s perception of experience or qualia. He is also Cofounder of the Stanford Transhumanist Association.

Anderw Bartynski Vice President of Strategy and Operations at ASRI, Alexander Shulgin Research Institute.

Andrew Penn is a board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner, trained at the University of California, San Francisco. He has completed extensive training in Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy at the California Institute for Integral Studies, MAPS, and the Usona Institute. As a member of the UCSF-TrPR Lab (with PI Josh Woolley, MD,PhD), he was a study therapist in the MAPS sponsored Phase 3 study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD published in Nature Medicine and was a Co-PI in the Phase 2 Usona sponsored study of psilocybin facilitated therapy for major depression published in JAMA.A Clinical Professor at the University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing, he teaches psychopharmacology and is an Attending Nurse Practitioner at the San Francisco Veterans Administration.   A leading voice for nurses in psychedelic therapy, he is a cofounder of OPENurses, a professional organization for nurses interested in psychedelic research and practice and Additionally, he was a co-author in an article in the American Journal of Nursing on psychedelic assisted therapies, the first in 57 years. In addition to numerous other publications, he is an author on the new textbook: Deliberate Practice in Psychedelic Assisted Therapy, published by American Psychological Association Press.

Ani Chahal Honan is the Founder and Managing Partner of Yunity, a highly scalable capital, startup labs, and advisory ecosystem, creating a new generation of mindful business aligned to a triple bottom line: People, Planet, and Profit. She serves as general partner for Yunity’s venture funds and is Founding Partner of the Imagine Fund (in development), empowering a revolution in mental health & wellness, with wisdom cultures as our guide. As an investor, advisor, and entrepreneur, she has deep experience supporting innovative companies, with exits and acquisitions of over $49B, including work with pioneers in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain/NFT/Web3, Extended Reality (XR, AR, VR), IoT, Robotics, Biotech Cybersecurity, Quantum, and more across a multitude of industries. Ani has been recognized by US Congress for outstanding contributions in business, as a Kate Spade World Changing Woman, a Top 40 under 40 Leader, a SXSW Mentor, and a Power Mentor and Co-Chair of the US Capital Women’s Leadership Conference. She serves as a Global Ambassador for the XPRIZE Foundation, Stewardship Council of Pachamama Alliance, and as an advisory board member for impactful organizations.  Ani is a passionate impact leader, dedicated to mental health & psychedelic industry advancement, women & girls empowerment, rainforest protection & regenerative agriculture, and new creator (art, music, film, tech innovation) communities fostering Play, Growth, & Purpose. She spends her free time traveling with her loved ones, is a certified meditation teacher and lifelong student of consciousness and growth.

Ariel Clark (she/they) is an attorney and advocate. After practicing Indian Law at California Indian Legal Services and then working with cannabis clients in California’s Bay Area, she started her own solo practice in 2010, to be of service to the plants and communities she is in deep connection with. In 2014, she co-founded Clark Howell LLP, a women-steered and values-driven business, corporate and regulatory law firm focused on cannabis and psychedelics, and engaged in various policy-reform and culture-change efforts that explore ethics in legal structures and business models that honor the Earth, Peoples, and lineages. In 2021, she also co-founded the Psychedelic Bar Association, currently serves on the Legacy Board and on the Ethics Committee, where she is co-producing a series entitled Law & Ethics: The Psychedelics Industry & Indigenous Peoples. Ariel is Odawa Anishinaabe, and is known as Eddawweghizhik Kwe (Both Sides Of The Sky Woman), she is Turtle Clan, from Nwejong (Where The Rivers Meet) in Michigan. Ariel was recently awarded a grant from Life Comes From It related to land-based healing/land reunion work, and is honored to be in study of Indigenous Peacemaking ways. Ariel has a Bachelors of Arts from University of Michigan in Religious Studies (2000) and a JD from Berkeley Law School (2005). While in law school, Ariel participated with a group of other Native American law students in discussions at the United Nation for what became the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Ariel Vegosen is the founder of Gender Illumination and Shine Diversity. Ariel is a professional workshop facilitator, confidence and integration coach, ritualist, performer, writer, public speaker, and educator. Ariel is the co-founder of Queerdome – queer centered psychedelic harm reduction. Ariel is a current third year student in the Awe Psychedelic Therapy Training Program and is a published author in Queer Psychedelics. Ariel can be reached at [email protected]

Danielle Nova, the visionary Founder of Psychedelic Recovery and the Executive Director San Francisco Psychedelic Society, is a dedicated advocate, educator, psychedelic guide and inspirational speaker specialized in microdosing, deep journey work, addiction recovery, medication detox support and spiritual transformation. With a global impact, Danielle has over six years of professional experience in the psychedelic field providing comprehensive education programs, integration services, and compassionate guided experiences for thousands of individuals worldwide. Danielle’s commitment extends to global influence, spearheading the establishment of addiction recovery support programs under the project Psychedelic Recovery, positively influencing over 5K individuals across the world. Her leadership includes creating specialized training programs for recovery group facilitators, guiding individuals out of harmful addictive patterns and educating clinicians on psychedelics as a tool for addiction recovery. Notably, Danielle played a pivotal role in the founding of Decriminalize Nature Oakland, contributing to the historic passage of the first resolution in the United States to decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi. Danielle’s work has been featured in notable outlets such as CBS News and MAPS Psychedelic Science Conference. She lends her expertise as an advisor to several companies in the psychedelic field. Danielle’s unwavering dedication and dynamic leadership make her a trailblazer in psychedelic advocacy and addiction treatment.

Trained as a Family Physician, Dr. Pepper was faculty with UCSF for 30 years practicing and teaching family Medicine. He then went back to school at CIIS in Psychedelics. He’s particularly interested in the intersection of Pscyhedelics as people approach End of Life

Dayna West, PhD, holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and served as Staff Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at Children’s Hospital, Oakland, where she was also Assistant Director of Training. Upon realizing the limitations of existing tool kits for treating trauma, illness, anxiety and depression, she obtained a Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research at the California School of Integral Studies (CIIS) in 2019. She subsequently completed certification programs with ketamine, cannabis and psilocybin (in The Netherlands). She was Associate Producer for last year’s TEDxMarin Salon on Psychedelic Science and is Executive Producer on a forthcoming documentary about the FDA clinical trials for MDMA-Assisted therapy for treatment-resistant PTSD.

Scientist, entrepreneurMy background and training is in medical anthropology specializing in psychiatric anthropology, neuropharmacology and ethno pharmacology (the phytochemistry of shamanic formulations). My work originally focused on the psychosocial development of the shamanic practitioner in Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico. I also worked with Alexander Shulgin exploring novel chemistry in the genre of the short acting tryptamines, DMT and 5-MeO–DMT. I’ve worked in cannabis, psychedelics and other pharmaceutical drug development for 45 years.I founded Spiritus Bioscience in 2022 focused on formulation and delivery technologies for psychedelic, bioactive peptides and other pharmaceutical therapeutics focused on mental health, neuropsychiatric disorders, regenerative and functional medicine and longevity. Currently initiating clinical trials with our first psychedelic drug product, a sublingual psilocin spray, with no GI distress, a 10 minute onset and a 3 hour experience duration.

Dr. Marseille is a leading expert on the economics of the emerging psychedelic-assisted therapies. He is the founding Director of UC Berkeley’s Collaborative for the Economics of Psychedelics (CEP), a network of health economists and health services researchers dedicated to realizing the potential of psychedelic therapies for high-priority mental health conditions. Through policy-relevant economic analyses, CEP seeks to enhance the efficiency of service delivery, and increase access to these promising therapies. Dr Marseille has over 35 years of experience in senior public health management and research positions. In addition to the economics if psychedelic therapies, he has published widely on the economics of global health interventions, especially for HIV/AIDS.

Graham Pechenik is a registered patent attorney and the founder of Calyx Law, a law firm specializing in cannabis and psychedelics related intellectual property, especially as it relates to drug discovery and development. Graham has a BS from UC San Diego, where he chose his Cognitive Neuroscience and Biochemistry majors after his first psychedelic experiences inspired deep curiosity about the bases for changes in consciousness, and a JD from New York University, where he initially pursued interests in bioethics and cognitive liberty. After a decade at large law firms defending and challenging patents for Fortune 500 companies across the agricultural, chemical, pharmaceutical, biotech, and technology industries, including working on several landmark patent cases both at trial and on appeal, Graham started Calyx Law in 2016 to help cannabis and psychedelics ventures design and implement their IP strategies. Graham is also editor-at-large of Psychedelic Alpha, where he writes about psychedelics IP, provides data for patent trackers, and maintains a psychedelics legalization and decriminalization tracker, he is the founding steward of the IP Committee of the Psychedelic Bar Association, where he is also on the Board of Directors, he is a member of Chacruna’s Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, and he is an advisor to numerous organizations and venture funds. Graham was raised in Oakland, CA, and currently lives in San Francisco.

Gwen has been learning and working in the mental health field for twenty years, exposed to the world of neurodivergence and innovative healing approaches at a young age. Growing up amongst the diversity within the San Francisco Bay Area and gathering influential experiences and training from UCLA, NYU and various mental health settings along the way, Gwen has honed her expertise in the specialty of Integrated Health. She even spearheaded the counseling internship program at Bronx Health (previously Bronx Lebanon Hospital), as part of her practicum while earning her masters’ in Counseling for Mental Health & Wellness, the program of which she is now faculty at NYU. Gwen immersed herself in further clinical application and training – including somatic therapeutic approaches, EMDR, and relational therapy – and found her place in the specialty of mental health x psychedelics, completing certification with the Integrative Psychiatry Institute. She now serves as the Bay Area Ambassador for Journey Clinical, cultivating education and empowerment for the psychedelic community of mental health clinicians. Gwen is an integrative, multi-licensed psychotherapist, adjunct professor, clinical supervisor and certified psychedelic-assisted therapy provider and advocate, who is passionate about curating spaces for access and conversation in the community. Through her warm and direct approach, she has made it her life’s work to help people connect with their own Inner Healing Intelligence and live a meaningful life.

Hadas is a co-founder of Plant Medicine Law Group, a law firm serving the cannabis and psychedelic fields. She is a Board Member of the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association and a Founding Board Member of the Psychedelic Bar Association. She previously served on the Equity Subcommittee of the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board, and the Qualifications and Training Subcommittee of the Colorado Natural Medicine Health Act Advisory Board. She is currently the Director of Community Relations for the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California.

Imran Khan is executive director of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP). The BCSP exists to explore the potential of psychedelics through research, training, and public education. Imran has spent his career working at the nexus of science & society. He was previously the CEO of the British Science Association, and Head of Public Engagement at the Wellcome Trust as well as advising lawmakers in the UK Parliament. He has presented at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the World Economic Forum, and SXSW. His writing has appeared in Nature, the Financial Times, the Guardian newspaper, and BBC News.Imran has degrees in biology and in science communication from the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, as well as an MBA from City University, London. He is also an Honorary Research Associate in Science & Technology Studies at UCL. He now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys trail-running, many forms of nerdery, and trying to make the perfect daal.

Dr. von Salm is a scientist with 15 years of experience in natural products chemistry and drug discovery. During her time in academia, she researched exotic marine wildlife in Antarctica and searched for new chemistry and natural medicines in Florida and the Caribbean. In 2017, she was named Most Read Author by the American Chemical Society (ACS) for her publication on new antibiotics from Antarctic marine sponges. Since then, Dr. von Salm helped build the muv cannabis brand by leading R&D for AltMed FL and co-founded the biotechnology company Psilera in 2019. Psilera is focused on next generation psychedelic medicines based on the natural compounds DMT and psilocybin. Her work in the mental health space has been recognized with the 2019 Cosmic Sister Emerging Voices Award and 2020 ACS ElSohly Award for Excellence in Cannabis Chemistry. Psilera’s research on non-hallucinogenic tryptamines for alcohol use disorders was awarded additional grant funding by the Florida High Tech Corridor and continues to show immense promise towards helping patients suffering from addiction, neurodegeneration, and mood disorders.

Karina Bashir is an attorney and Incoming Research Scholar at UC Berkeley School of Law and the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Karina’s work will play a critical role in advancing industry growth and safe and equitable access to psychedelic medicine. She is leading a regulatory initiative focused on best practices and developing an industry-led voluntary disclosure tool to build public trust and enhance industry accountability and transparency.Karina’s focus on ethics and best practices in the psychedelic arena is driven by her experience as a human rights advocate and as a regulatory compliance attorney at a large globally renowned international law firm, where she developed her ESG expertise. Karina’s legal practice encompasses emerging ESG regulatory, enforcement, and litigation issues, AML and FCPA compliance and internal investigations, as well as international human rights considerations for financial institutions. Karina is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association and the American Health Law Association. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Psychedelic Bar Association, where she is also a steward of the Religious Use Committee. Karina is a Fulbright Scholar and Gates Cambridge Scholar and received her JD from UC Berkeley School of Law, MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, and BA from the University of Michigan.

Kat Kurner is a Psilocybin Facilitator, Coach and Activist. For the last 20 years, Kat has helped people find their way back home to themselves with the help of psychedelics. She specializes in working with people at end life, however she works with all who are looking to heal themselves with the help of psychedelics as long as they are medically sound to do so. Kat is passionate about decriminalizing nature and increasing awareness around the many benefits of psychedelics.

Larry Norris, PhD, studied biopsychology and cognitive science as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, and defended his doctoral dissertation at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco. His dissertation reviewed archived ayahuasca experience reports to identify transformational archetypes and insights that could help inform developing models of integration (meaning-making). Larry is the co-founder and executive director of Entheogenic Research, Integration, and Education (ERIE) a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in the San Francisco Bay Area, dedicated to entheogenic education and integration support. Larry is also a co-founder and board member of Decriminalize Nature (DN), which sprouted from Oakland in 2019. He advocates for the unalienable right to develop one’s own relationship with Nature and supports efforts to decriminalize entheogenic plants and fungi (e.g., ayahuasca, iboga, cacti, mushrooms) nationwide.

Liana is the Board Chair & Founder of North Star, a recent MAPS alum (Major Gifts & Strategy), and currently consults on strategy, ethics, & business development using structures and practices for purpose- built organizations that follow new economy principles. Previously, she helped build the prominent cannabis investment firm The Arcview Group. She has been committed to ending the drug war and building a just movement around psychedelics and cannabis for the last 15 years. Through intersectional collaboration, she seeks to co-create “the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible” with allies working on regeneration, indigenous rights, human rights, humane technology, collective liberation, and purpose-driven economics.

A feminist to the core, Lisa founded SeedFund to empower women to build the wealth they deserve. Driven by endless curiosity and killer instincts, she exceled as an operational leader and head of growth/M&A for a top five global marketing company. She also led strategic planning, financial communication and marketing for a Fortune 200 company. As a founder herself, Lisa understands how insights from corporate strategy and marketing can give start-ups an advantage.

I’m a current graduate student in the lab of Dr. Gül Dölen at UC Berkeley. My work in psychedelic research began with Dr. Dölen at Johns Hopkins where I was an author on the 2023 publication “Psychedelics reopen the social reward learning critical period”. My research interests span Neuroscience, Mycology and Ethnobotany and I’m currently investigating the cellular and molecular basis of psychedelic-mediated critical period re-opening.Outside of science I enjoy going on hikes and mushroom forages. A fun fact about me is that I played 3 varsity sports while at Johns Hopkins (cross country, basketball and track and field).

Dr. Manesh Girn is a postdoctoral neuroscientist specializing in psychedelic drugs at the University of California, San Francisco. Working closely with psychedelic research pioneer Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, he conducts research on the neural mechanisms underlying the psychedelic experience and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. He has been lead or co-author of over 20 peer-reviewed publications to date on topics including psychedelics, the default mode network, abstract cognitive processes, and brain network organization. Manesh also runs a popular digital platform on Instagram and YouTube called “The Psychedelic Scientist”, where he disseminates the latest findings and developments in psychedelic science in a layperson friendly manner. Finally, Manesh serves as the Chief Research Officer at EntheoTech Bioscience, a pioneering Canadian bioscience company focused on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and multidisciplinary mental health solutions.

Mariavittoria Mangini, PhD, FNP has written extensively on the impact of psychedelic experiences in shaping the lives of her contemporaries, and has worked closely with many of the most senior investigators in this field_ _She has been a Family Nurse Midwife for 35 years, and has been in primary care practice with Frank Lucido MD, one of the pioneers of the medical cannabis movement, for 24 years. Their practice was one of the first to implement the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the first state medical cannabis initiative. She is one of the founders of the Women’s Visionary Council, a nonprofit organization that supports investigations into non-ordinary forms of consciousness and organizes gatherings of researchers, healers, artists, and activists whose work explores these states. Her current project is the development of a Thanatology program for the study of death and dying.

Mark McCloud is a photographer, sculptor, painter, art teacher, amateur comedian, and the preeminent collector of LSD blotter paper art (he owns an estimated 33,000 sheets of paper bearing miniature artworks).

Marlena Robbins, a proud member of the Diné Nation, is pursuing her Doctor of Public Health degree at UC Berkeley. Her research focuses on driving progress in the field of entheogenic medicines within tribal nations, where she aims to empower innovative therapeutic approaches. She investigates the spiritual, contemporary, and conservative influences of psilocybin mushrooms on Native communities in both urban and rural settings. Her research is set to reveal the diverse roles of psilocybin mushrooms, aiming to establish policies that respect traditional wisdom alongside contemporary therapeutic uses. Robbins’ ongoing work in this intricate domain stands as a testament to innovative thought and cultural respect, offering an optimistic path forward for psychedelic research and policy making.

Nadia has a passion for fostering high-performing teams and excels in sales, investor relations, and business development. Over the past four years, Nadia has held positions in business development for various companies in the psychedelic industry (Psygen Labs, Alvarius, JLPOC Inc.). She has cultivated a deep understanding of the life science industry, emerging markets, and established fruitful relationships with key stakeholders and industry leaders across drug development, research, and clinical operations.She is currently Head of Operations at Adamo Bioscience, which is leading the convergence of intimacy, sexual wellness, and science. The company is currently completing a clinical trial with 42 couples suffering from low desire/intimacy to measure the efficacy of “The Adamo Method” – an 8-week medical protocol designed to improve sexual wellness and intimate connection.Previously, Nadia spent 20 years as a paramedic, specializing in advanced/critical care and aviation retrieval medicine. This experience has graced her with acute instincts and outgoing interpersonal skills, allowing her to develop meaningful connections with those the psychedelic industry often serves – first responders and veterans with PTSD.

Nara Dahlbacka is a dedicated professional political operative residing in Lake County, with roots in Oakland and a deep passion for making government work for her clients. With over 15 years of experience in political work, Nara’s expertise encompasses diverse areas such as public affairs, government relations, permit expediting, campaigns, community organizing, complex land use and zoning entitlements, reproductive rights, animal welfare, and healthcare justice. Nara has become known as Milo’s ‘Queen of Green,’ leading the firm’s cannabis and drug policy efforts since joining in 2016. Her expertise now covers psychedelic policy as well as cannabis. A strong advocate for the community, Nara serves in multiple influential roles, including the cannabis industry appointee to the Lake County Cannabis Taskforce, the 49th agricultural association board, Vice Chair and Ex Officio for Asm Cecilia Aguiar-Curry on the Lake County Democratic Central Committee, East Bay Animal PAC board member, and immediate past President of the Cat Town Oakland board, board member for the Lake County Cannabis Alliance, and as a company member of Queer Cat Productions. Driven by a genuine commitment to her craft, Nara is a certified Ganjier, demonstrating her comprehensive knowledge of the cannabis industry. She thrives on serving the community and leveraging her expertise to make a positive impact in her surroundings. Connect with Nara to explore collaborations and engage in meaningful conversations on the intersection of policy, community development, and social justice.

Nikita Obidin is the founder and CEO of Arcadia Medicine, a company developing safe empathogens for use in drug-assisted psychotherapy. Before starting Arcadia, he was a neuroscience graduate student at MIT in Ed Boyden’s group, where he worked on novel methods of in-situ DNA sequencing. He has been passionate about the potential of psychedelics since reading PiHKAL at age 16 during his first summer in an organic chemistry lab.

Niko Summers is an herbalist, mycologist, ceremonialist, teacher, speaker, and a co-founder of Decriminalize San Francisco. He makes organic herbal supplements through his brand Soulstice and Native Mushrooms, as as well as facilitates ceremonies for the community. Soulstice and Native mushrooms prioritize the well-being of the BIPOC & LGBTQ+ community.

Founder of Congregation of Sacred Practices

Angelica Valadez, “Aikutzi,” is a descendant from the Wixárkika (Huichol) people of Mexico. She is a Wixarika/Native/ Mexican-American woman of color that resides in California and Mexico, and serve on the board of directors of Decriminalize Nature. Aikutzi is an artist and an activist. https://www.thehuicholcenter.org/

Originally from Chile, Alejandro Cerda Alvar studied transpersonal psychology and social anthropology. With the blessing from the elders, Alejandro is a knowledge keeper for the Andean and Maya-Toltec Traditions. He has learned and worked with several elders and has traveled through different countries in Latin America and North America where he has lived within indigenous communities, learning their cosmoexperiences and culture and immersing himself in their wisdom. Alejandro is the co-founder and co-director of the intercultural initiative Despertar del Camino Sagrado (Reawakening the Sacred Ways) and is a member of the Nahualli Toltec Research Institute. Alejandro is also an associate researcher at the Amawtay Wasi Intercultural University of Ecuador and an active collaborator of the Association for Scientific Research of the Peruvian Amazon (ASICAMPE). He is also one of the board of directors for the Universidad de la Tierra in Bogotá, Colombia.As part of his work with Despertar del Camino Sagrado, Alejando is the principal investigator and director of the “Origins of Cacao Project,” investigating the origins of the cacao in the upper amazonian borders, working with the local community to understand and document the sustainable and community-based cacao production, rituals, and health benefits of the cacao medicine. He has been working with Despertar’s team and other partners to increase the dialogue between contemporary science and ancestral wisdom worldwide.

Originally from Brazil, Ana Paula Soares is a bilingual licensed mental health clinician with a master’s degree in clinical and community psychology. Ana Paula is a certified clinical trauma professional with more than 20 years of experience in the field. In addition to trauma healing, Ana Paula has also been influential in the areas of Public Health and Health Equity in Wisconsin and beyond since she moved to the US in 2005. She has worked with several non-profit organizations, academic institutions and governmental bodies as an advocate and advisor, developing and implementing culturally affirming programs and community-based mental health interventions. In the last decade Ana Paula has dedicated her practice and career to decolonizing mental health, increasing accessibility to traditional wisdom and healing and advocating for decolonial practices. Combining contemporary psychology and neuroscience with traditional healing, Ana Paula works with several Indigenous elders and knowledge keepers from North, Central and South America to educate institutions and individuals on ancestral wisdom as well as indigenous epistemologies and praxis. With the blessings of the elders of tradition she has been integrating expanded states of consciousness and the use of entheogens into her practice in a traditional way. Ana Paula is the co-founder and co-director of the intercultural initiative Despertar del Camino Sagrado (Reawakening the Sacred Ways) that is working with many partners to bridge ancestral wisdom and contemporary psychology and research.   Ana Paula provides mental health and healing services, training, public speaking, and consultation in the areas of health equity, mental health and entheogens. 

Dr. León is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist who works in both outpatient and emergency hospital settings. He completed medical school at UCSF and residency with the County of San Mateo. He is the co-founder of a Ketamine-Assisted Therapy program at a local clinic. He has 8 years of experience volunteering for The Zendo Project which provides psychedelic peer support services and trainings at festivals including Burning Man, where he currently serves in a leadership role.

Arsalan Shah is a seasoned pharmacist and a leader in healthcare and business development, with years of experience as the Senior Director of Pharmacy at one of the largest non-profit organizations in Portland. In this role, Arsalan is responsible for serving houseless and marginalized individuals with substance use and severe mental health issues along with other social determinants of health. He brings with him extensive experience in navigating complex healthcare systems, ranging from insurance payors to frontline providers. In addition to his work in the healthcare industry, Arsalan is the founder and CEO of The Psychedelic Pulse, a media company that is dedicated to educating people about the science of psychedelic medicine and its impact on healthcare at no cost to them. He uses this platform to reduce stigma, make science fun & approachable for everyone, and provide evidence-based information to the public.

Chicago born, living in Oakland by way of NY, AshEl has West African/Blackfoot ancestry. He has been working intentionally with various shamanic healing practices since 2005, including Dagrara divination, Japanese spiritual purification, Sukyo Mahikari, and Galactic Language Activation/soul cleansing via Tian Gong.His music groups include hip hop based RebelWise, Sage & Cedar, and Dogon Lights.He is Co-Director of Esphera.Earth (EFAM, Solestial Church, Earth Amplified) providing liberation through restoring ecosystems, regenerating communities, and re-membering our divinity.

Avi Esther began learning to facilitate altered states of consciousness in 2010 with shamanic tantric practitioner training, followed by ‘Birth into Being’ facilitator training in 2011. She ran transformative workshops using breath and movement to induce trance and trained other practitioners to facilitate till 2017. She used these healing skills and knowledge to help prepare women and their partners for childbirth while assisting as a doula for many women in labor. She began facilitating mushroom ceremonies in 2017 by request from a group who witnessed her powerful facilitation skills. By comparison to helping a panicking, pain-filled woman in labor; calm, find her center and naturally birth a child as a psychedelic sacred rite of passage…. mushroom ceremonies are easy. Since then she has guided many journeys for people, both with and without substances. She has researched chemistry and biological mechanisms, Searched out myths and stories from the old world to listen for the motifs of the sacraments she works with, Amanita Muscaria and its medicinal allies. So she understands how to honor the ancients of the land who worked with these entheogens alongside the science and ethical practices. Through integration, Avi Esther helps make the experience relevant and meaningful for each person and group by supporting their relationship with themselves and nature rather than putting her own “way” onto them.

Carlos has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Anthropology from UCLA and a master’s degree in Environmental Science from Yale University. In 1993, between earning his degrees, he lived with the Achuar in the Amazonian rainforest for three months to experience life in deep relation to nature. He has worked as a social justice and environmental justice organizer, a political organizer, government policy, and as a lobbyist and developer/builder.Carlos is the co-founder of a national movement for the liberation of sacred plant and fungi medicines, Decriminalize Nature (DN), and until mid-2023 was the Chair of the National Board of Decriminalize Nature. He resigned from the board in 2023 to return to Oakland to work with a local builder’s group he founded to advocate for climate stewardship, innovation, equity, and affordable housing in the built environment. He is also an advocate for the reintegration of indigenous worldviews into western society.

Since the beginning of her work in community mental health in 2015, Denisse has had the privilege and honor of working predominantly with LGBTQ+ communities, people of gender expansive experience and highly marginalized communities. Denisse holds a Masters Degree in Holistic Counseling Psychology. And she utilizes her bilingual and bicultural Mexican-Indigenous heritage as foundations for honoring and affirming the human dignity of communities that are marginalized by violence, criminalization, and sociocultural oppression. Denisse’s work is centered around gender affirming practices, trauma informed care, restorative justice, IFS, somatics, as well as the use of culturally humble holistic practices. Denisse views her work as a life calling and roots all of her knowledge into her roles as therapist and Training Director for Alchemy Therapy.

Dennis Walker is a satirist and puppeteer best known as the founder of the Mycopreneur platform. He has hosted over 150 mushroom entrepreneurs from 25 countries on 6 continents of the Mycopreneur podcast and has given keynotes at mushroom conferences in places as diverse as India, Hungary, The Netherlands, England, Mexico, and across the U.S.. Walker has written for platforms like High Times and Double Blind among others and has been featured in Rolling Stone, Forbes, and numerous other outlets.

David E. Smith, MD, DFASAM, FISAM, FAACT is recognized as a national leader in: The treatment of addictive disease,  The psychopharmacology of drugs,  New research strategies in the management of drug abuse problems, and  Appropriate prescribing practices for physicians. He teaches that addiction is a primary medical illness which is best treated in a multidisciplinary fashion with an abstinence-oriented model of recovery, utilizing the group process in conjunction with medication assisted treatment. Dr. Smith founded the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics in 1967, during the Summer of Love, inaugurating the principle of “Health Care is a Right, not a Privilege.” He is Chair, Addiction Medicine & MQAC, for Muir Wood Adolescent and Family Services in Petaluma, California, a residential treatment center for teens with substance abuse and co-occurring disorders, the Medical Director for Avery Lane Healing Center for Women, as well as the Medical Director of Center Point, in San Rafael, California, a therapeutic community focused on those coming out of the criminal justice system. Dr. Smith is a Diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine, a past President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM). He is the Founding Editor of the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs and co-author of “Unchain Your Brain: 10 Steps to Breaking the Addictions that Steal Your Life.” He is currently working on his memoir, covering his early years, through the Summer of Love, and up to today.

Dr. Molly Maloof specializes in tailoring health optimization and personalized medical solutions for high-achieving entrepreneurs, investors, and technology leaders. Prior to founding Adamo Bioscience, she spent three years pioneering a course on healthspan within Stanford University’s Wellness Department. Her company, Adamo Bioscience, is dedicated to showcasing the measurable impact of human connection on healing processes. At the forefront of her endeavors is the development of The Adamo Method, a groundbreaking sex therapy program designed to address sexual dysfunction, enhance relationship bonds, and promote sexual health. In her boutique medical practice, Dr. Maloof conducts personalized medical research and optimization strategies for clients from companies including OpenAI, Zenga, Amazon, McKinsey, and Deutsche Bank. With over a decade of experience, she has advised and consulted for over 50 companies in digital health, consumer health, and biotechnology. Dr. Maloof, also the author of The Spark Factor, leads the charge in personalized medicine, digital health technologies, biofeedback-assisted lifestyle interventions, psychedelic medicine, and evidence-based wellness products and services.

Eliza Maroney is a multi-faceted healer, coach, and entrepreneur, guiding her clients into their most abundant chapters with passion & vigor. Known for her seamless weaving of multiple modalities, she integrates the wisdom of tantra, yoga, and science to lead workshops on integrative wellness from a poignant perspective. From breath work to sound baths, yoga, meditation, and beyond, Maroney has been known to grace stages at retreats, festivals, and conferences with her insights on the intersection of somatic awareness & human potential.

I am an Art Evangelist, a zealous advocate of art and writing for healing.  Who I am is a Crusader on a Mission: To Build Connection and Community through the arts. I’ve taught K-12. Creative writing and drama in public and private schools all over the San Francisco Bay Area.  I’ve been a lecturer at Stanford University, UC Berkeley and SF City College. I have taught Expressive Arts, creative writing, created and directed Page to Stage theatre productions to incarcerated, unhoused families and mentally ill populations for more years than 30 years. I created the Write for Your Life program at SF General for people with HIV/AIDS.  I took a group of young people on a tour of the Eastern United States, to do a production on being incarcerated.  I’ve done lecture demonstrations with Probation and Parole Officers, Judges, and Law Enforcement across the country on the importance of art for incarcerated people, sponsored by the Justice Department.  Currently I lead a Healing Circle for Black women in the community, many of whom have lost their children to Police and or gun violence.  I also teach a storytelling, Radical Self-Care class for Elders.  The main purpose has been to break isolation during Covid and to continue to increasing the feeling of being valued members of the community.

Gantt P Galloway is a versatile author and has contributed major research works in the field of Addiction Research and Therapy, psychology, and neurology. And has dedicated their major research contributions in the field of Addiction research, Substance-Related Disorders, Psychology, Neurology, Behavioural Science, etc.

Gene Ching has been a volunteer with Rock Medicine since 1987. He serves as the primary supervisor of Rock Med’s Psych division, which oversees management of intense psychedelic reactions. In the early 90s, Gene was a consultant in this capacity for the Grateful Dead and Phish, and toured the west coast with both bands to support drug harm reduction and reduce impact on local emergency medical systems. Gene also sits on the board of JAH Med, another volunteer event medical organization based in Northern California, also serving as a psych division supervisor overseeing management of psychedelic crisis. He continues to work at concerts and festivals as a psych supervisor including Outside Lands, Lucidity, California Roots, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival. For the last decade, Gene has given drug harm prevention talks to students ranging from upper elementary school to college level. Gene is a writer and publisher, predominantly in the fields of martial arts and pop culture. He is the author of the book Shaolin Trips.

Dr. George von Bozzay is the Founder and Director, Biofeedback Institute and a Past associate professor with Stanford University School of Medicine and University of California, San Francisco Medical school. He is the author of seven books and numerous publications, and an international lecturer in behavioral medicine, biofeedback, stress management, future health technology, wearables and apps.

With over two decades of facilitating and teaching, Jeffrey Williams is a multidisciplinary educator and healing artist deeply immersed in unraveling the human body’s potential to heal itself. Through intensive study and application of traditional and modern wellness systems, he guides diverse individuals into self governance of their nervous systems for greater state control and healing. Jeffrey leads the Alphabiotic Training Academy and the Vitalist Project where his programs, such as the Autonomic Nervous System Reset empower practitioners and individuals alike to seize control of their health and apply practical science to live life to its fullest expression.

Jennifer Ingram of Tribe13 has over 20 years of experience curating and organizing the logistics of art events, traveling shows, and galleries. She and Roman Villagrana co-founded both Tribe13 and the Interdimensional Art Show, an exhibit and gathering held annually on the west coast since 2003. Her work has fostered visionary art culture creation through the belief that art, fashion, and music and the interrelationships between them is engaging, dynamic, and sustaining. Jennifer also works to “mother” artists in all ways to help them promote their art. Look for her at large festivals and activated gatherings all over the globe.  An independent curator for 20 years, Jennifer Ingram has been at the helm of an art collective and traveling gallery called Tribe 13. Jennifer Ingram supports the efforts of independent artists by creating opportunities to showcase them around the world. From creating new interactive experiences to bringing the culture on tour to new audiences, Tribe 13 is at the forefront of the art, music, and fashion world of the new galactic culture emerging today.   Since the birth of Tribe 13 in 1997, with fellow artist Roman Villagrana, Jennifer Ingram has been curating and coordinating huge efforts to help art, fashion and music move from the underground to the mainstream. Beginning with art galleries at the Oracle Gatherings in Seattle, then graduating on to the Interdimensional Art Shows & Tours across the west coast, and now internationally, Tribe 13 has helped create the space for artists of ‘visionary’ or ‘interdimensional’ art to exist and thrive within this defining culture. Jennifer currently lives bi-coastal, where she is pursuing her MA in art history and her accreditation in fine art appraisal. In addition to curating art, she contributes to and volunteers within the African Birth Collective in Senegal.

Jeremy Gardner is cofounder and managing partner at Mystic Ventures, the leading early stage venture capital firm in the psychedelic medicine space.

Jonas founded Ora Cacao ten years ago to share the medicine of regeneratively grown and ethically sourced pure 100% cacao with the world. Ora Cacao has a 10,000 sq ft custom bean to cacao chip manufacturing facility in Graton CA, and sources cacao from a network of several thousand small family farms in six countries.Jonas is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from Stanford University. He is a first generation American originally from Germany, and he received the prestigious Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for his graduate studies.

Jonathan Lu is the co-founder of VCENNA, a drug discovery company that creates mental wellness solutions from psychoactive plants used ceremonially in Ancestral Eastern traditions. Jonathan is an engineer that has been studying 2000 year old Chinese texts in search of compounds, formulations, and rituals that have been lost to history. His team applies modern neurophysiological and computational tools to understand scientifically what our ancestors discovered millennia ago, and from which they developed the nootropic formulations for Magi Ancestral Supplements.

Tribal Chairwoman of Indian Canyon Nation,  CEO of Kanyon Konsulting LLC, and President of Costanoan Indian Research 501c3  “I am Mutsun-Ohlone CA Native Two-Spirit Woman. I am a creative artist ever inspired by nature and the natural world, Catalyst of unsettling/decolonizing conversations, encouraging Cultural competent and culturally sensitive opportunities, Contemp/Traditional Artist, N8v Representative, Consultant, Advocate of Truth in History, Multimedia Artist, “Coyote”, T.E.K educator, & much more.”

Dr. Katherine Lawson is an Integrative Mental Health Specialist, a certified Embodied Imagination® practitioner, consultant, and an international speaker. She has spent nearly two decades examining the intersections between healing, dreaming, mysticism, and psychedelics. As the survivor of early childhood trauma, cancer and nearly losing a child to addiction, she teaches and utilizes holistic therapies for PTSD and other types of unprocessed wounds, as well as sharing stories of healing. She is the co-founder of Awake in the Dream School of Integrative Consciousness, an online psychedelic educational platform and the author of Dreamwork for Growth and Healing: a Guided Dream Journal.

Kevin Feeney, PhD, JD, is an author and researcher trained in the fields of law and cultural anthropology. His research interests include examining legal and regulatory issues surrounding the religious and cultural use of psychoactive substances, emphasizing peyote and ayahuasca, and exploring modern and traditional uses of Amanita muscaria. His primary work, “Fly Agaric: A Compendium of History, Pharmacology, Mythology, and Exploration,” was published as an edited volume in 2020. Additional research and writings have been published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Human Organization, and Curare, among other books and journals. He is a member of Chacruna’s Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, and a member of the Board of Advisors for Psyched Wellness.

Keyaira Lock Adewunmi is a renowned innovator, conscious creator, and cultural strategist, who empowers leaders and their organizations with the cultural, emotional, and spiritual intelligence tools needed to foster equitable and sustainable practices from the inside-out. She is the Founder of Spice & Sage, a psychedelic culture marketing consultancy which aims to revolutionize the industry by spearheading and disseminating consumer-focused research, as demonstrated by her peer-reviewed papers on how psychedelic messaging can impact marketing outcomes, and co-founding Kellogg’s Business of Psychedelic Therapies conference. Concurrently serving as the Director of Entrepreneurship at The Garage at Northwestern in San Francisco (TGSF), Keyaira’s strategic foresight has nurtured a vibrant ecosystem of over 1,000 alumni founders, tech operators, and investors, fostering significant innovation and growth. Through her visionary integration of customer intimacy, cultural intelligence, and custom curation, Keyaira stands as a transformative force, redefining the landscape of cultural equity and conscious creation in her multifaceted roles.

Kristina Soriano is a Texan-born Filipina who has lived in San Francisco since 2005. With her Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration, she is passionate about helping organizations with psychedelic advocacy. She has volunteered with the Zendo Project at Envision Festival in Costa Rica, and at Burning Man in Nevada. Her most recent project has been to establish a Donor Advised Fund with her husband called the Psychedelic Literacy Fund, to co-finance the translation of books about psychedelic therapy into different languages. She is also a trained classical pianist, a music teacher, and loves to sing medicine songs while accompanying herself on the ukulele.

Lindsay Cameron, PhD is a neuroscientist at Stanford University and focuses on studying psychedelic drug action. Dr. Cameron’s research focuses on studying the effects of psychedelics and related compounds, including their potential for treating neuropsychiatric disorders like depression, PTSD and addiction in rodent models. During her PhD work, she investigated whether hallucinations are necessary to achieve therapeutic effects caused by these compounds. Through systematic design, she created a novel, non-hallucinogenic psychedelic analog that retains therapeutic properties. Dr. Cameron now uses cutting-edge techniques to investigate the circuit-level mechanisms of psychedelic experience and therapies.

Mamo Lorenzo Izquierdo Arroyo is a lead representative for the elders of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta region in Colombia and was involved in the foundation of the Confederation of the Ancestral Authorities of the Original Nations of the World (CAAENOCANM). The Mamo are the spiritual priests trained in darkness by living in caves for the first 9 to 18 years. They are trained in the dark to tune into the: “Aluna” – the Great Mother – who creates all things. They are direct descendants of the Tairona culture which pre-dates the Inca and Mayan Cultures. Mamo Lorenzo was born in 1975, belonging to the native Arhuaco people. After extensive training under the guidance of fourteen scholars of the Arhuaco Original People and the teachings of Mamo Sello, Mamo Lorenzo, lived a 90-day trance that helped him bring back the memory of the internal knowledge of his being and nature, an experience that strengthened the previous years of training. The recognition of his learning came with a mission: Travel the world to unify the peoples and help remember the foundations and principles of creation, clean, purify and feed Mother Earth.In 2009, Mamo Lorenzo was named a Member of the Council of Elders of America and joined the global “Raíces de la Tierra” – Roots of the Earth Ceremony, an event that tours different countries lighting the fire of the Kiva “the heart of the earth” for the unity of native peoples. In 2011, Mamo Lorenzo with other spiritual authorities wrote the nine mandates of the native peoples. Mamo Lorenzo has developed a spiritual alliance with the Muisca and Panche People to strengthen the process of recovery of the wisdom and ways of living of the native peoples and its territory. In addition to sharing teachings, currently Mamo Lorenzo guides the experiential 9 day retreat: Return to the Origin, opening the doors of his house and carrying out ancient spiritual work and teachings to strengthen individual and collective healing in the world.

Mareesa Stertz is a storyteller, community organizer, and Co-steward & Lead of Strategy and Communication at the Global Psychedelic Society. She is also the founder of the Psychedelic Leadership Summits, cofounder at Lucid News, and a filmmaker who’s created the documentary series, “The Healing Powers of Psychedelics”, currently streaming on Gaia TV.  She has been building community and bringing leaders together in the psychedelic space together since 2018, with an emphasis on content creation, changing dominant narratives around mental health through media, and connecting all the mycelial dots on a global level. She believes community is the foundation for a healthy eco-system.

Mariavittoria Mangini, PhD, FNP has written extensively on the impact of psychedelic experiences in shaping the lives of her contemporaries, and has worked closely with many of the most distinguished investigators in this field. She is one of the founders of the Women’s Visionary Council, a nonprofit organization that supports investigations into non-ordinary forms of consciousness and organizes gatherings of researchers, healers, artists, and activists whose work explores these states. She is a visiting scholar at the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, and Professor Emerita in the School of Science, Allied Health, and Nursing at Holy Names University. For the last 50 years, she has been a part of the Hog Farm, a well-known communal family based in Berkeley and in Laytonville, California.

Matthew Rick has been selling blotter art at events and online through Shakedown Gallery since 1998. Shakedown Galleryhas been publishing unique new blotter art editions since 2004 and has worked with many nationally recognized psychedelic and visionary artists to create signed limited edition blotter releases. Matthew has participated in the Bicycle Day event in San Francisco since its inception and the BicycleDay.TV broadcasts during the pandemic. His background includes an MFA from Naropa’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, where he was able to study writing with many Beat and psychedelic authors including Ken Kesey, Allen Ginsberg, DiPrima, and numerous others. He lives in San Francisco.

Peter Vitale has been working for over twenty years as a lawyer, entrepreneur and community builder, focused on people and projects that strive to make the world a better place. As an advisor to the Shulgin Foundation, Peter has been central to helping plan for the future of the organization. “We are the ones that we’ve been waiting for – let’s get to it!”

Phoebe McPherson is an educator, herbalist, psychedelic advocate, and the Co-Founder of both Fungtion and Fun Guy Fungtional — sister brands supporting the full spectrum of mushroom + kanna wellness — from daily supplements to recreational delights. While she is deeply knowledgeable on medicinal mushrooms, psychedelics, and plants, her passion lies in sharing kanna (sceletium tortuosum) with the world, supporting individuals and brands on how to use the plant respectfully and incorporate it into psychedelic protocols and experiences. Phoebe is also a founding member of The Microdosing Collective, a non-profit working towards legalizing safe access to psychedelics

Zac is a rabbi and community leader, based in Berkeley, CA. He holds an MA in Biblical literature and languages from UC Berkeley and the Graduate Theological Union and received rabbinic ordination from the head of the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court in 2012. As the founder and CEO of Shefa, Zac is pioneering a movement to integrate safe and supported psychedelic use into the Jewish spiritual tradition, advocating for the healing of individual and inherited traumas, and inspiring a Jewish religious and creative renaissance in the 21st century.

Sam Shonkoff is the Taube Family Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. His scholarship focuses on intersections among embodiment, altered states of consciousness, and interpretation.

Sandra Dreisbach is an Ethicist and Psychedelic Ethics specialist with a MA, PhD in Philosophy. She is an Ethics Advisor active in Psychedelic Integration, Education and Advocacy. Dr. Driesbach is the community leader of EPIC (Ethical Psychedelic International Community), Director of Ethics for Nectara, a psychedelic support ecosystem, and former leader of the Santa Cruz Psychedelic Society. Previously she taught Bioethics at University of California, Santa Cruz for the Biomolecular Engineering and Philosophy Departments, and worked for many years in the tech industry primarily at Apple. She is a Reiki Master.

Syd Gris is a licensed psychologist, and got his Doctorate at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he studied clinical and transpersonal psychology. His dissertation looked at how the spiritual development of advanced practitioners compared with Ken Wilber’s transpersonal model of development. Since 2007 he has worked down the street from here in the Bayview at a city clinic, where he runs a program doing psych assessment, treatment and linkage for kids and families in the SF foster care system. He also has a part time private practice working with adults.He is also the Founder of Opel Productions, throwing SF club events since 2002, and co-founded the well known Burning Man sound camp Opulent Temple and then later an off-shoot Opulent Chill. Opel recently had it’s 22 year Anniversary trying to throw in their words “Parties with Purpose”, and Opulent Temple, who’s missions is “A Space for Sacred Dance to World Class Music” is gearing up for another large production at Burning Man this year. He is also of course, a DJ, playing with the world’s biggest artists for as long as he’s been throwing parties.

Tina Trujillo is an Associate Professor and Faculty Chair at UC Berkeley’s School of Education, where she has researched and taught about the politics of education; policy analysis; epistemology; and the links among education, democracy, and social justice. Her current interests focus on nature and well-being, as well as scientific, spiritual, and Indigenous ways of knowing. Tina also serves as the Faculty Director of the BCSP Certificate Program, where she conducts ethnographic research and an internal evaluation of the program. She is interested in understanding how this training can be diverse and inclusive, serve to identify best practices in the professional preparation of psychedelic facilitators and advance the use of psychedelics as tools for mending humans’ relationships with the broader natural community.

Xochitl Bernadette Moreno is a ceremonialist who works in the healing arts blending various paths of study from with her own ancestral Mexican / Australian lineages and also from the places she has traveled to study including Thailand, India and Brazil. Her offerings include Integrative Bodywork, Clinical Herbalism, Assisted Therapies, Yoga, Reiki, Ayurveda, Curanderismo and Mexica Oracle Card Divination. She is a long time activist and media maker. Co-Host & producer for KPFA Radio’s, La Onda Bajita and Creative. Director of the Docuseries, Entheogenic Roots: the Indigenous origins of Psychedeilc Culture. She is also co-founder/director of ESPHERA, which houses EFAM, Essential Food & Medicine a community based organization in Oakland, Solestial Church a worldwide ceremonial community and Earth Amplified a media company working that seeks to speak for the earth and all our relatives.