An Ethical Investment: the Psychedelic Future

Sylvia Benito

Sylvia Benito CFA, CIO

Sylvia Benito started her career as an aspiring healer, studying for a decade with shamanic and yogic masters. Driven by a desire to experience spiritual awakening, she explored everything from tantra, to long silent retreats, to plant medicine ceremonies – all purely in search of ultimate truths. After a decade of searching, during a prolonged yogic journey to India, Sylvia discovered a deep union with awakened consciousness itself, and realized love as foundational. With this taste of enlightenment, she saw that the modern era needs to change the “enlightenment narrative.” Upon her return from India, she decided to learn to manage investments as she became a Chartered Financial Analyst, with the hope to bringing together the worlds of consciousness and capital. Fast-forward another decade - she was managing over $1B in family office investments, as she continued her faithful studies in shamanism and healing. She realized that healing our trauma, was fundamental to wealth having true value and healthy purpose. As time revealed more, the worlds collided further. Inspired by a vision in a ceremony, she saw that it is possible to invest from deeper consciousness and love-based alignment. She learned to attune to investments during plant medicine ceremonies.

Innovating Mental Health Practices

Lucia Huang

Co-founder/CEO, Osmind

Lucia is co-founder and CEO at Osmind. Lucia previously led business and operations at Verge Genomics, an AI-driven neuroscience biotech finding cures for ALS and Parkinson's Disease. At Verge, she helped scale the company from seed to post-Series A. She previously invested in innovative healthcare technology companies at Warburg Pincus. Lucia started her career advising life sciences companies in investment banking. Lucia graduated Yale with a B.S. in Chemistry and earned an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she was also awarded a Certificate in Public Management and Social Innovation. At Stanford, Lucia focused her studies on healthcare and co-led the GSB Healthcare Club. Lucia is passionate about mental health and has devoted her career to improving healthcare, from life sciences to new technology innovation.

Ayahuasca Research in an Adapted Traditional Framework

Simon Ruffell

Doctor of Psychiatry

Simon studied medicine at the University of Sheffield before specializing in psychiatry. Simon has an interest in transcultural psychiatry, having worked as a doctor overseas in Northern Uganda. He now works in psychedelic research, with a focus on ayahuasca and has spent the last five years conducting research into the use of ayahuasca in the Peruvian Amazon. He also works as a psychiatrist at The Maudsley Hospital in South London, as well as working as a Senior Research Associate at King’s College London looking at the use of psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression. He is currently completing a PhD looking at the the use ayahuasca in the Amazon and associated mental health outcomes.

Psychedelic Support: Minimizing Risk & Fulfilling Potential

Joshua White

Founder and Executive Director

Joshua White is Fireside Project’s Founder and Director. With experience serving as a crisis counselor on a helpline and a psychedelic peer support volunteer at the Zendo Project, Joshua believes deeply in the power of peer support as a vital part of the community mental health ecosystem. Before founding Fireside Project, Joshua spent many years as a trial lawyer practicing civil litigation, mostly as a Deputy City Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney's Office.

Exploring Visionary Art with Chris Dyer

Chris Dyer

Artist

"Chris Dyer is a Peruvian artist, living in Canada, and traveling the world half of his time. He experiences different cultures and then re-expresses them into his own oneness visions. He serves as a Bridge builder between different art movements from skateboard graphics, visionary paintings, street art murals and more. He wants to break boxes and see everything as one optimistic reality. Though his subject matters are as varied as his styles, his art is just a reflection of his personal spiritual journey."

The Psychedelic Prism: The Sacred Responsibility of Developing an Interconnected and Reciprocal Future

Dr. Angela Beers & Jason Beers

Dr. Angela Beers, Licensed Psychologist

Dr. Beers’ theoretical approach is Humanistic and Transpersonal with concentration on individual, community, and ancestral decolonizing and unsettling aspects to healing via Non-Ordinary States of Consciousness. She is an advocate for ethical accessible psychedelic— entheogenic reclamation and believes spirituality is significant to the psychological for rematriation in a patriarchal world. Her dissertation and thesis research explored human intersections of dependency, detachment and communal exploration of NOSC. Dr. Angela Beers is a mother, wife, and psychologist of Indigenous-Mexican and European ancestry. She is a former intern at the American Indian Health and Family Services in Southwest Detroit. Her background includes the Michigan Department of Corrections, Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival–Movement, and expanded access MAPS-Naropa MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Trainee. She co-owns Crescent Roots Psychological Services and is adjunct faculty at Naropa University. Jason is a clinical psychologist with experience in urban settings such as psychiatric ERs, prisons, and universities. He co-owns a private practice with Angela Beers. He loves to engage clients in self-evolving techniques through meditation and visualization.

Lived Experience: Healing Addiction with Ibogaine

Patrick K. Kroupa

Chief Psychedelic Officer, BetterLife Pharma

"Patrick Kroupa has over 20 years of experience working with a wide spectrum of psychedelic compounds to address mental health and drug dependence disorders. During the 1990s Patrick was a high-functioning heroin addict, who was a founder of New York City's first internet access provider, MindVox. He regained his life through the reset that ibogaine provides, and was recruited by Dr. Deborah Mash to work at the University of Miami's Ibogaine Research Project, Dept. of Neurology, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. He is a founder of Clear Sky, the world's oldest medically-based psychedelic treatment clinic focused on utilizing ibogaine to interrupt polysubstance abuse disorders. He is co-author of the first ibogaine microdosing paper ever published (MAPS, 2005), and co-founder of Transcend Biodynamics. Patrick currently serves as BetterLife Pharma's Chief Psychedelic Officer. "

A New Ecosystem: The Culture of Psychedelic Business

Paul Austin

Founder & CEO

"Paul F. Austin is a pioneer in the 21st century for responsible use of psychedelics for healing, leadership, and personal transformation. He has been featured in BBC, Forbes, and Rolling Stone for his work amplifying awareness around the benefits of microdosing psychedelics. Paul is the author of the book “Microdosing Psychedelics: A Practical Guide to Upgrade Your Life” and the founder of two companies in the emerging psychedelic space, Third Wave and Synthesis. Through his initial seven-month microdosing protocol, Paul experienced the tangible benefits of microdosing LSD, including accelerated learning, easier access to flow states, and a deeper sense of presence. His experience with microdosing inspired him to push for legitimizing psychedelic substances via the topic of microdosing. Most importantly, intentional psychedelic use helped him to further uncover his own truth, enabling an alignment of purpose and mission with contribution to community and society. Paul’s unconventional path has now placed him in a position to serve the lives of many millions through psychedelic education and literacy."

Transformation Shared: Making Healing Accessible to All

Colin Pugh

Executive Director - Brooklyn Psychedelic Society

Neuroscientist / Psychonaut

Our Trip Together: The Book that Inspired Psyched

Maya Albert & Marik Hazan, Interviewed by Tammy Sanders

Maya is an operations/project managment specialist and writer who has experience in several industries. Before diving into the psychedelic space, she spent many years at the top of the coffee industry, her work earning her print coverage in publications such as Time Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. Recently, Maya was first author of a 200+ page compressive report on the psychedelic space, covering history, policy, science, and investment landscape. She is now co-authoring a book on the subject. She leads the organization of a yearly psychedelic conference, and helps several other other organizations through her operations consulting. Marik is an engineer and advocate who has worked across “counter culture” industries. He founded Iliac which built technology for the sex workers’ rights movement. Later he worked with decentralized governance organizations including Aragon and Democracy Earth in the blockchain space. He led marketing and growth for many of Silicon Valleys top startups including Clearbit, Segment, and Envoy during his time at Bell Curve as their Director of Growth. Marik helped to develop the Yale School of Management’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and helps run an incubation program for startups in Upstate & Western New York. Marik holds his MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Psychedelic Assisted Therapies in Australia

Tania de Jong AM

Co Founder and Executive Director of Mind Medicine Australia

Tania de Jong AM Acclaimed Australian soprano, global speaker, award-winning social entrepreneur, creative innovation authority, spiritual journeywoman Founder Creative Universe, Creativity Australia, Dimension5, Music Theatre Australia, Pot- Pourri, The Song Room and Founder and Executive Producer of Creative Innovation Global and co-founder of Mind Medicine Australia Tania de Jong (pronounced Yong) AM is one of Australia’s most successful female entrepreneurs and innovators having developed 5 businesses and 3 charities over 3 decades. Tania works across the public, private, creative and social sectors. She founded Creativity Australia, Creative Universe, MTA Entertainment & Events and The Song Room and works with disadvantaged communities through Creativity Australia’s ‘With One Voice’ choir social inclusion programs. She has recently co-founded Mind Medicine Australia. Tania presents keynote speeches and leadership programs and performs internationally as a soloist and with her group Pot-Pourri. She has released twelve albums including her new solo releases Solitary Harmony and The Breezes at Dawn have Secrets to Tell. Tania’s TED Talk How Singing Together Changes The Brain has sparked international interest. She is Founder and Executive Producer of Creative Innovation Global winning national and international awards. Creative Universe and Creative Innovation Global were ranked among the top 20 event organizers and agencies from around the world as part of the newly released Eventex All-Stars Index. Tania has founded a co-working space called Dimension5 in Melbourne to drive social innovation and collaboration. Tania’s awards include Ernst and Young Australian Social Entrepreneur of the Year. She was inducted into the AGSE Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame at Swinburne University and named Brainlink Woman of Achievement. Tania was named in the 100 Women of Influence and the 100 Australian Most Influential Entrepreneurs in Australia and recently was honoured with the Award for Meritorious Service to the Community in the Victorian Multicultural Awards for Excellence 2019. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2008 for service to the Arts as a performer and entrepreneur and through the establishment and development of music and arts enrichment programs for schools and communities. Tania’s mission is to change the world, one voice at a time!

A New Era in Psychedelics: DMT and The Future of Mindful Medicine

Jackie von Salm

Co-Founder and CSO of Psilera

After receiving my PhD in natural products and organic chemistry, I was drawn to industries that challenged the norm. I have worked in various fields of drug discovery from neglected and tropical diseases to antibiotics to psychoactives, all of which are understudied fields with many drug discovery challenges. My father's diagnosis with a rare form of dementia and my family's struggle with addiction catalyzed my interest in neurological conditions and continues to motivate me today. Our goal at Psilera is to accelerate research of mindful medicines whose purpose is to benefit patients as a whole and for the long term.

Ketamine as Treatment for Substance Use Disorders

Leonardo Vando

Dr. Leonardo Vando, Medical Director at Mindbloom

Dr. Leonardo Vando is a Board Certified Psychiatrist and Addiction Psychiatrist with over 15 years of experience in treating the full spectrum of psychiatric and addictive disorders. He has been at the forefront of ketamine use in clinical practice, and contributes to the field of psychedelic medicine through his work and research on microdosing for mental illness. Dr. Vando received a medical degree from Ponce School of Medicine, and trained as a psychiatrist and addictionologist in NYC’s Beth Israel Medical Center. He has worked in private practice for over a decade.

Regenerative Futures of Psychedelic Businesses

Magenta Ceiba

ECO, Bloom Network

Magenta Ceiba is the executive creative officer (ECO) of Bloom Network, an international action network for regenerative cultures. She consults companies on alternative business models, and she works with blockchain teams building infrastructure and tooling for better public commons management. In 2020 Magenta was recognized as among the Top 100 Marketing and Advertising Leaders by MADcon. "Mushrooms made me do it."

Visionary Art: Symbols & Meaning

Liba W Stambollion

Liba

"Liba was born to American parents but grew up in South East Asia. She moved to the USA in her teenage years and then to Paris, France in 1993 where she has been living since. Liba paints, writes, makes books, and curates. Ecology, the Sacred Feminine and mystic dreams are the recurrent themes in her work. Liba has been working with psychoactive plants, holotropic breathing and lucid dreaming for forty years. Her painting, writing, intentions and manifestations are rooted in the mystic experience. ​ Liba did a year of art and environmental studies at Simons Rock of Bard College and went on to receive a scholarship from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she studied painting, wood working and bookbinding. She graduated in 1988 and stayed in Chicago exhibiting, teaching art and working for a cabinet maker until she was swept off her feet by a handsome and charming Frenchman. Together they designed handmade ecological furniture for almost thirty years. ​ Liba is the founder of Dreams and Divinities, a project which unites International visionary, fantastic and surrealist artists in the name of community and Love. The project showcases an eclectic mix of creativity through a series of books and exhibits from prestigious sites and museums to the equatorial forests of Colombia. As of April 2021, Liba has organized 29 events for the group and produced four books. ​ Liba's has done a multitude of exhibitions worldwide. She has exhibited her paintings in both galleries and museums in Europe, Canada, USA, South and Central America, Asia and Australia. ​ Her furniture designs, poems, paintings and interviews have been featured on television, in newspapers, magazines, books & numerous articles online. "

Lucid News Panel | Mainstreaming of Psychedelics: A Deeper Discussion

Hosted by Ken Jordan, with Douglas Rushkoff, Julie Holland, MD, Jeremy Wolff, and Dennis McKenna

Ken Jordan is the Editorial Director & CEO of Lucid News.

Lucid News Panel | Voices of the Psychedelic Movement

Hosted by Mareesa Stertz, with Zach Haigney, Joe Tafur, Belinda Eriacho & Ifetayo Harvey

Mareesa is a Filmmaker, co-founder, and media director at Lucid news

Lucid News Panel | What Lessons Can the Psychedelics Industry and Activists Learn From Cannabis?

Hosted by Ann Harrison, with Sarah Somerset, Allan Steiner & Jeff Siegal

Ann Harrison is the Managing Editor Lucid News. Sarah Somerset is a Cannabis Correspondent and Global Drug Policy Analyst. Allan Steiner is a writer and drug policy analyst. Jeff Siegal is the Managing Partner at JLS Fund.

Morning Meditation with Maria Muñoz

Maria Muñoz

Spiritual Mentor & Energy Intuitive

Spiritual & Intuitive Coach and Energy Healer / Curandera Espiritual / Sound Healer - IPHM Certified I work with Spirit as an energy medicine practitioner, spiritual mentor and sound alchemist, with focus on intuitively guided readings as I communicate between realms as a medium . I provide the support to assist in your rediscovery of the inner wisdom and universal gifts available to us all, to bring in a transformative experience aligned with your soul's path.

The Next Generation of Psychedelic Assisted Therapy

Ronan Levy

Executive Chairman

Ronan Levy is the founder of Field Trip Ventures, a psychedelic therapy clinic with several locations in Canada and the US. In 2018, he cofounded Grassfed Ventures Inc., a venture capital and advisory firm focused on the cannabis, life sciences, and eSports industries.

Leveraging Technology For Psychedelic Therapy

Jemie Sae Koo & Matt Zemon

CEO & Founder, Psychable.com

Jemie Sae Koo is CEO and Co-Founder of Psychable - the most trusted, comprehensive online community dedicated to connecting those interested in legally exploring psychedelic-assisted therapy with practitioners who can support them. Jemie brings more than 15 years of extensive digital and marketing experience to the role including successful brand planning and viral campaigns for global brands including Amazon, Disney, H&M, Intel, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Salesforce, Toyota, Taco Bell, and YouTube. A serial entrepreneur, Jemie designs projects rooted in corporate social responsibility. She leverages consumer insights, data, and analytics to sustainably scale businesses efficiently and effectively - resulting in the creation of industry-first new business totaling $250M+. Jemie holds a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of California, Irvine in International Studies and Sociology with a minor in Business Management and is currently working on her Master’s Degree in Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Jemie serves on the Executive Board of the American Heart Association and enjoys traveling, cooking, yoga, hiking, and meditation.

The Brain on LSD

Carli Domenico

Psychedelic Researcher

Carli is a doctoral student with a background in neuroscience and philosophy. Her research investigates the effects of LSD on memory and visual areas using direct, in vivo electrophysiology recordings in rats. These methods allow insights into the way neural representations of the world become altered and also how these brain regions may interact differently when a hallucinogen is present. Carli is fascinated by the parallels and divergence between sleep and psychedelic states, and she enjoys musing on the resulting implications for conscious perception. She believes deeply in the healing power of mindfulness meditation and psychedelic therapies, aiming to be an ambassador of accessible information to bridge scientific dialogue and the public in the pursuit of a more peaceful, present civilization.

Future of Psychedelics: Uniting the Present and the Past

Michael Stuart Ani

Michael Stuart Ani

Michael Stuart Ani has been a student of plant wisdom for almost fifty years. As a young man, the Lakota sage, John Fire Lame Deer, guided him through his first peyote ceremony and then sent him south to Mexico in search of the steps of the Ghost Dance. These steps led Michael to the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, famous for its sacred mushrooms. From the 1960’s through 1970’s, Ani lived in the Mazateca’s most remote cloud forest and became the only outsider who was ever allowed to collect the sacred mushroom species of the region. Unlike the sugar cane and cow dung magic mushrooms the Huautla locals called “The White Man’s Saints” the elusive mushrooms of the cloud forest were known as “Los Pequenos” or “The Little Ones.” Ani then spent 30 years learning the language of “The Prince of Plants,” the voice behind these special mushrooms. During the 1980’s, the steps of the Ghost Dance led Ani to the remote tribes of the Amazon Jungle. With his Amazonia Foundation, Michael was instrumental in fighting the epidemics among the Yanomami in the rainforests of Venezuela. He introduced the plant Artemisia annua which proved to be a much more effective antimalarial than the WHO pharmaceutical used at the time. Ani also helped to create a school to teach local indigenous people to be healthcare officers in the emerging Alto Orinoco Biosphere Reserve,

The Magic of Consciousness: Life and Art with Alex and Allyson Grey

Alex & Allyson Grey

Alex Grey is best known for his paintings which “X-ray” multiple dimensions of reality, interweaving physical and biological anatomy with psychic and spiritual energies. An accomplished visionary artist, Allyson Grey’s paintings invent a symbol system representing chaos, order and secret writing.

Psilocybin Cooking Demonstration with Dr. K Mandrake

Virginia Haze + Dr K Mandrake

Virginia Haze + Dr K Mandrake

Dr K Mandrake is a scientist and mushroom advocate, and along with his co-author Virginia Haze wrote The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible (2016) and The Psilocybin Chef Cookbook (2020), published by Green Candy Press. With a PhD in microbiology, Dr K’s specific interests include fungal biology, naturally occurring psychedelics, environmental justice and food sovereignty. Dr K uses a science-led approach to teach others how to safely grow and consume their own mushrooms, in addition to advising on a variety of projects, from the chemical quantification of fungal alkaloids to the use of locally occurring fungi in permaculture. In between keeping on top of the latest research in fungal biology and helping out aspiring growers on the DoubleBlind Mushroom Course forums, Dr K is equally likely to be found either out in the wild foraging for interesting cooking ingredients, or in the kitchen whipping up a delicious meal or a batch of homebrew beer. Virginia Haze is a prolific writer and photographer, and has written a number of books on the use of substances and the culture around them, including co-authoring the best-selling books The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible and The Psilocybin Chef Cookbook with Dr K. Mandrake. She’s a regular contributor to lifestyle publications and her photography has appeared in many books. She learned to grow mushrooms under the tutelage of Dr. K. Mandrake and has since become a fierce proponent of psilocybin decriminalisation and the dissemination of science-backed information relating to psychedelics. She has been working in this field for over a decade. Both Dr K and Virginia are active on Instagram @themushroombible where you can learn more about the work they do in the field of psychedelic mushroom cultivation and consumption.

The McKenna Academy: A Welcome from Dennis McKenna and Christina Chaya

Christina Chaya & Dennis McKenna

Executive Director and Founder of the McKenna Academy

Christina’s transition in 2002, from Senior Art Director of a marketing agency in Manhattan, to social and environmental entrepreneurialism in South America, led her to meet Dr. Dennis McKenna with the same passion for a common vision: an awakened world where all species thrive in harmonic interconnectivity. They embarked in establishing the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy (www.mckenna.academy). As co-founder, board member and Executive Director of this blossoming 501(c)(3) nonprofit, she is not only accompanying the establishment of its roots, but also oversees the manifestation of its vision through the development of all its programs including the Journey of the Soul retreats, Mystery School Retreats (first launched with Alexandre Tannous in Nov 2019), online events including “A Tribute to Terence McKenna,” and the current Knowledge Preservation Project. Her life’s work reflects her respect for the wisdom of the ancestors, new sustainable innovations, and the basic needs of the people, in their space, at that time — for a more harmonic existence with the earth, with others, and with oneself.

The McKenna Academy Panel: Bridging Wisdom Traditions & Biomedicine

Abby Navaro, Tony Natem Duku, Spencer Hawkswell, Jesse Hudson & Demer Gonzales Vasques

McKenna Academy Panel | Psychedelic Listening to Open Minds & Hearts

Dennis McKenna, Alexandre Tannous, Mellody Hayes, MD

Dennis McKenna is the principle founder of the McKenna Academy. Alexandre Tannous is as an ethnomusicologist, sound therapist and sound researcher. Dr. Mellody Hayes is a physician-leader, a writer, and spiritual teacher.

The McKenna Academy Panel: Illuminating Color

Akojaiye Ausar & Abby Navarro

Psychonautics Redefined: Analyzing Consciousness

Conor Murray

Postdoctoral fellow, UCLA

In her role as Chief Advocacy Officer at Canopy Growth, Hilary is responsible for driving patient advocacy efforts worldwide, executing the Company’s social purpose strategy including social justice initiatives, and co-leading the implementation of best practices for diversity & inclusion. In 1997, Hilary founded the British Columbia Compassion Club Society (BCCCS), the first medical cannabis dispensary in Canada. In addition to providing medical cannabis therapies, the BCCCS offers subsidized natural healthcare services in its Wellness Centre, dramatically improving the health and quality of life for thousands of critically and chronically ill Canadians. She has been dedicated to serving patients for over 20 years and continues to be committed to breaking down the barriers to access to medical cannabis for all Canadian patients. She championed an initiative focusing on the role of cannabis in addressing the opioid overdose crisis and other substance use disorders. Canopy Growth donated $2.5 million to the University of British Columbia, and the BC Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction donated an additional $500,000 to establish the Canopy Growth Professorship of Cannabis Science which will examine the potential utility of cannabis in addressing the opioid crisis.

Psychedelic Therapy: Into the Mainstream

Hayim Raclaw & Abid Nazeer

CEO and Chief Medical Officer of PsychTech Global

Experienced in international medical business-building, sales, and financing. Hayim has driven value for North American, European, African and Israeli biotech firms for 20+ years, enabling growth and successful exits. Focused on being a steady hand in emerging markets.

Experiential Understanding: Discovering the Unknown

Adam Knowles

Existential psychotherapist

"Adam is an existential psychotherapist researching the Amazonian plant medicine ayahuasca and its potential to help those in the UK with insight and well-being. Learn more at ayaresearch.com "

Creating Change: Psychedelic Activism and Policy

Noah Potter

Principal, Legal Market Strategies

Noah joined the psychedelic law reform movement in the early 1990s after learning about the ibogaine paradigm. While practicing law as a commercial litigator, he has served as chair of the NYC Bar Association's Committee on Drugs and the Law, organized the NYC Cannabis Parade and Rally, coined the term "psychedelic law" when he founded the New Amsterdam Psychedelic Law blog, assisted the Decriminalize Denver campaign in obtaining approval of its ballot initiative, and currently is building support for psychedelic law reform in New York through New Yorkers for Mental Health Alternatives. He teaches Continuing Legal Education programs and provides media commentary on cannabis and psychedelics.

Philanthropy, Policy, and Healing: Creating Change

David Bronner

Cosmic Engagement Officer, Dr. Bronner’s

David Bronner is Cosmic Engagement Officer (CEO) of Dr. Bronner’s, the top-selling natural brand of soaps in North America and producer of a range of organic body care and food products. He is a grandson of company founder, Emanuel Bronner, and a fifth-generation soap-maker. Under David and his brother Michael’s leadership, the brand has grown from $4 million in 1998 to over $190 million in annual revenue in 2020. In addition to his support of advocacy for regenerative organic agriculture, David directs Dr. Bronner’s resources to support movements for animal rights, fair pay, and drug policy reform among other causes. One of his passions is the responsible integration of cannabis and psychedelic medicine into American and global culture and he is a board member of the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies.

ICEERS | A Welcome to Psyched with Benjamin De Loenen

Ben DeLoenen

Founder & Executive Director, ICEERS

Benjamin De Loenen, M.A., studied audiovisual media and communications in The Netherlands, where he graduated with honors from his Masters with his documentary “Ibogaine-Rite of Passage” (2004), a film that remains an important reference on this subject matter. Since this achievement, Benjamin has been dedicated to making ayahuasca, iboga and other psychedelic plant practices valued and integrated parts of society. In 2009, he founded the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research & Service (ICEERS), a charitable non-profit organisation with United Nations consultative status, where he serves as Executive Director. Benjamin is the author of several publications and films, has presented at conferences around the world, and has participated in various leadership roles, including as a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Ibogaine Therapist Alliance (2012 – 2014).

ICEERS Panel | Misunderstood Data: Ancient Wisdom in Science

With Silvia Mesturini, Isabelle Stengers, José Carlos Bouso & Daiara Tukano

Silvia Mesturini is currently researching for the ERC project “Healing Encounters. Reinventing Indigenous Medicine in the Clinic and Beyond”. Within this project she focuses on Indigenous perspectives on the globalisation of ayahuasca and on the dialogue with STS and the epistemology of science. Her fieldwork is rooted with the Shipibo people of the Central Peruvian Amazon. She started conducting anthropological research on ayahuasca, ritual interaction, Indigenous ontologies and human and non-human relationality in 2004, both in the northern Peruvian Amazon as well as in Europe. She obtained a PhD in Anthropology in 2010 at the Free University of Brussels. She has since been teaching at the faculty of social and political science of the University of Louvain, Belgium and she has been giving trainings in social science to professionals of the mental health and social work sector in Brussels.

Isabelle Stengers is professor emerita of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. After graduating in chemistry she has turned to philosophy, and as a doctoral student her collaboration with Nobel Prize Ilya Prigogine has led her to develop the contrast between the conceptual inventiveness of physics and its role as a model of objectivity. Claiming the irreducible plurality of scientific practices, she has proposed, as a challenge inseparably political and cultural, the concept of an active ecology of practices, embedded within a demanding, empowered environment. Her work is related to the philosophy of Deleuze, Whitehead and James as well as to the anthropology of Latour and the SF thinking adventure of Haraway.

ICEERS Panel | Future Visions: Ceremonial Plant Medicine Practices in the West - Reciprocity and Collective Responsibility

Miriam Volat, Hattie Wells, Jeronimo Mazarrasa & Andrea Langlois

Miriam Volat is interim Executive Director of the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative and Co-director of the Riverstyx Foundation. She is a researcher, educator, organizer, facilitator and ecologist who focuses on biocultural conservation and justice. Miriam has never stopped exploring nutrient cycles and soil ecology, the emphasis of her M.S. work in the UC Davis Vegetable Crops Dept. She also has degrees in Political Science and Environmental Studies. Her work is committed to increasing health in community design and ecological, mental, physical, cultural and spiritual well-being. She is dedicated to supporting indigenous-led initiatives and medicine conservation. Miriam, also a mother, feels it is her responsibility to be actively engaged in looking to the future. She is fortunate her daughter, Cora, also supports her work and participates passionately on her many adventures.

Hattie Wells is an ethnobotanist and activist with over twenty years of experience researching and working with psychedelics. She is a director of Breaking Convention, the UK’s largest conference on psychedelic consciousness and works as editor for a cannabis company, Seedsman. Drug policy reform advocacy includes having worked with Transform Drug Policy Foundation and The Beckley Foundation in an effort to promote evidence-based drug policies and stop the needless criminalisation of certain people who use certain drugs. She is currently consulting for ICEERS on a project to develop a roadmap for legally and ethically integrating the ritual use of plant psychedelics into the Global North.

Jerónimo M.M. is an ayahuasca community activist and independent researcher. He has produced and written two documentaries about ayahuasca. The first about the Brazilian Ayahuasca churches, the second about the use of Ayahuasca in the treatment of drug addiction. In the last 20 years he has travelled extensively through South America, researching a broad range of Ayahuasca practices, and has lectured internationally on ayahuasca tourism and the appropriation of indigenous knowledge. He works as Social Innovation Coordinator for the ICEERS Foundation, and is a founding member of the Plantaforma (Platform for the Defense of Ayahuasca) in the last 5 years he has devoted most of his energy to think about how ritual plants practices can be integrated outside of their countries of origin.

Andrea Langlois is a communicator, facilitator, and community-based researcher and is passionate about policy, dialogue, and social movements. She is the Director of Engagement at ICEERS and the co-lead of the Iboga and Ibogaine Community Engagement Initiative.

ICEERS Panel | The Unintended Consequences of the Biomedicalization of Traditional Plants

Walter López-Panshin Nima, Ricard Faura, Miguel Evanjuanoyy & Imika Tarirú

Walter López-Panshin Nima is the President of the Association of Shipibo Onaya Ancestral Doctors ASOMASHK. Shipibo-Conibo People.

Ricard Faura holds a PhD in social psychology and a Master’s Degree in anthropology. He is an international project developer, a weaver of alliances, and also a university professor (UOC). He is currently weaving alliances with ancestral knowledge holders and coordinating biocultural conservation projects at ICEERS.

Miguel Evanjuanoy Chindoy, environmental engineer, member of the Inga people, community leader and follower of yagé spirituality since his childhood years. He lives in a rural village in Putumayo, Colombia where at present he serves as a mayor, within the constitutional framework of indigenous governance. Miguel is an indigenous rights' activist and a spokesperson for the Union of Indigenous Yage Medics of the Colombian Amazon (UMIYAC). His work is aimed at the defense of indigenous knowledge systems and strengthening territorial and political autonomy of Amazonian indigenous peoples. He also focuses on key issues such as: the role that indigenous spirituality and yagé medicine play in indigenous governance, indigenous mental health, peacebuilding and reconciliation in war-torn Colombia. Recently he has been researching and raising conscience about the devastating effects of cultural appropriation of spiritual practices on Amazonian communities. He leads UMIYAC’s technical committee.

Imika is a wisdom keeper, ancestral healer and spiritual guide of the Tubú Nation.

Psygen: A New Generation of Medicinex

Danny Motyka

Chief Executive Officer at Psygen Labs Inc.

DANNY MOTYKA BSc Chief Executive Officer | Co-Founder • BSc Chemistry with honours, University of Victoria. • Former Director of Operations and General Manager, Aurora Cannabis. • Extensive knowledge providing foundational experience with the intricacies of good manufacturing practices (GMP). • Strong understanding of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the associated regulations. • Longtime proponent of psychedelic medicines. • 5+ Years in Cannabis industry; built a GMP facility and scaled from 2 to 60 employees

Mapping The Landscape of Psychedelic Experiences

David Champion

Co-founder & CEO

David is the CEO of Maya, a psychedelic therapy intelligence platform designed to bring greater trust, transparency, and measurement to the participant journey. The platform is geared to become the world's largest database of psychedelic health outcomes, fueling insights to help psychedelic healthcare scale safely. David also directs Unlimited Sciences, a psychedelic research nonprofit combining academia with data science to understand underground psychedelic practices and surface best practices to inform further research. In 2019, he served as a campaign-lead in the Denver Psilocybin Initiative, helping Denver become the first US city to reform psilocybin policy. Prior, David was Co-founder & CPO at Baker Technologies, which he exited after achieving a valuation of $250MM.

Psychedelic Research in the 21st Century

David Nichols

Psychedelic Researcher

Dr. Nichols graduated from the University of Iowa with a PhD in medicinal chemistry, he then was a postdoctoral fellow in the Pharmacology Dept at Iowa, followed by researching and teaching Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Purdue University for almost 38 years. With government permission, he synthesized high purity MDMA, DMT, and psilocybin for clinical studies. He has written over 300 scientific publications on psychedelics, dopamine agonists, and more. In 1993 he founded the Heffter Research Institute, which has supported and funded clinical research with psilocybin and led the psychedelic renaissance. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Collective Change: Ending the War on Drugs

Jason Ortiz

Executive Director

Jason Ortiz ’08 is SSDP’s Executive Director. In addition to being a longstanding alumnus, Jason has been on the frontlines of the cannabis equity movement. Jason is a founder and President of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, where he led efforts to create model cannabis equity policies at the state and municipal levels. While he comes with extensive drug policy expertise, Jason has experience organizing on numerous issues including his role as Director of Campaigns with Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation, where he worked to end capital punishment. He also served on the National Puerto Rican Agenda, where helped with Hurricane Maria relief efforts and continues to address issues of economic justice for his island. Professionally, Ortiz has led over a dozen races for elected office as campaign manager and political consultant, and served as Executive Assistant to Minority Leader Wildaliz Bermudez of the Hartford Connecticut Court of Common Council, the city where he now resides.

Spiritual Use of Entheogens in India

Kamya Buch

Travel & Spirituality Influencer

Kamya is a full time digital nomad and has built a successful travel and spirituality page, with an online community of over 200k. She has a Masters in Economics from the University of Warwick and has been travelling the world for 5 years. Kamya founded Psychedelic Society India in 2019 in order to create a safe space for people to discuss their psychedelic experiences and share awareness about entheogenic plant medicines, therapy, research and integration. Kamya has a passion for promoting indigenous cultures and indigenous rights, being a Hindu, takes a strong focus on reviving Vedic and Yogic systems and their true origins. Kamya is passionate about natural health, holistic healing and furthering the ascension of human consciousness through spiritual mediums.

Diversified Healing: Representation in Psychedelic Therapy

Leticia Brown and Courtney Watson

Leticia Brown, LMFT; Doorway Therapeutic Services

Leticia Brown (she / her / hers), LMFT is a Black queer femme, whose practice engages various healing modalities at the intersections of harm reduction, sexuality and social justice. She prioritizes work with BIPOC & QTBIPOC communities through a liberatory lens that values communual interdependence, and affirms the inner healer we all hold within. Constantly exploring ways to decolonize her relationship to healing, she incorporates intergenerational and spiritual exploration, ritual, the use of the body and reconnection to intuition in her practice, and sees her role as co-creator with those she walks beside on their healing journeys. She has training in a variety of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy modalities, including various Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy trainings and the MAPS sponsored MDMA-assisted psychotherapy training for communities of color. Leticia hopes to always be guided by Ida B. Wells' mantra that "Nobody's free until everybody's free", particularly in her work with QTBIPOC bodies.

Breaking Boundaries: Accessing Psychedelic Medicine

Anne Philippi & Christoph Haberbauer

Founders of The New Health Club

Founder & CEO of The New Health Club platform.The advocate for treating mental health issues with psychedelics and the platform for introducing a psychedelic lifestyle.

Connecting and Educating the Psychedelic Community

Allison Feduccia, PhD

CEO, Psychedelic.Support

Allison Feduccia, PhD - Co-Founder & CEO Dr. Feduccia is a neuropharmacologist who has authored 24 publications on psychedelics and mental health in peer-reviewed journals. She began researching MDMA in 2004, accumulating 17 years of experience in mental health research at UT Austin, UCSF, NIH, and MAPS. In 2018, she co-founded Project New Day, a 501(c)3 nonprofit foundation with the mission to help people overcome addiction and actualize mental health through the responsible and legal use of psychedelics. Psychedelic.Support is the integration of her long-standing plant medicine practice, anchored in the belief that psychedelics can heal the soul and help us humans evolve in harmony with the earth.

The Psychedelic Economy: Conscious Capitalism

Moderated by Shadd Dales, with Hilary Black, Tim Moore & Peter Rands

In her role as Chief Advocacy Officer at Canopy Growth, Hilary is responsible for driving patient advocacy efforts worldwide, executing the Company’s social purpose strategy including social justice initiatives, and co-leading the implementation of best practices for diversity & inclusion. In 1997, Hilary founded the British Columbia Compassion Club Society (BCCCS), the first medical cannabis dispensary in Canada. In addition to providing medical cannabis therapies, the BCCCS offers subsidized natural healthcare services in its Wellness Centre, dramatically improving the health and quality of life for thousands of critically and chronically ill Canadians. She has been dedicated to serving patients for over 20 years and continues to be committed to breaking down the barriers to access to medical cannabis for all Canadian patients. She championed an initiative focusing on the role of cannabis in addressing the opioid overdose crisis and other substance use disorders. Canopy Growth donated $2.5 million to the University of British Columbia, and the BC Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction donated an additional $500,000 to establish the Canopy Growth Professorship of Cannabis Science which will examine the potential utility of cannabis in addressing the opioid crisis. Mr. Rands is a qualified patent attorney in the UK and Europe with over 10 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Mr. Rands has always had a passion for pharmaceutical innovation. Mr. Rands graduated from the University of Oxford in 2003 with a first class degree in Chemistry, following which he trained and qualified as a UK and European patent attorney specializing in pharmaceuticals. Tim Moore is the CEO of Havn Life Sciences Inc. Shadd Dales is the CEO of The Dales Report.

Therapeutic Benefits of Psilocybin

Judy Blumstock

CEO and Founder

Judy Blumstock has over 25 years of venture capital and private equity experience spanning early to late-stage investment in life science and biotechnology. Judy spent more than ten years as the executive director of corporate development for Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP). She has held senior roles at Genesys Capital, RBC Capital Partners, and Drug Royalty Corporation (now DRI Capital Inc.), where she served as the director of biological and pharmaceutical research. Judy brings these experiences to her role as CEO of Diamond Therapeutics, a psychedelic drug development company focused on broadly accessible, low-dose therapies for mental health.

Microdosing: Discovering the Research

Dawn Allison

Development Coach & Strategist

Offering conscientious business and personal developmental strategies for entrepreneurs, creatives, and executives. Micro shifts, macro results.

Psychedelics, Serotonin, and Migraine

Franklin King, MD

Psychiatrist

Franklin King IV, MD, is the director of training and education at the Mass General Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics and a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. His primary clinical and research interest is in the utilization of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to treat a variety of chronic psychiatric conditions, including depression and anxiety disorders, and in strategies to optimize these interventions for different patient populations. In addition, Dr. King teaches and supervises residents and fellows at Mass General, and practices clinically as a staff psychiatrist at the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders as well as on the Acute Psychiatry Service in the Emergency Department.

Ibogaine vs. Addiction: A Closer Look

Dana Beal

"Dana Beal, Yippie! heir to Wm. Burroughs & Allen Ginsberg who re-initiated ibogaine development with Howard Lotsof in the December of 1980, is the principal champion of Robert Gouterel's hypothesis identifying ibogaine mechanism with the neural plasticity of REM sleep, as opposed to the NIDA's reduction of ibogaine effect to blockade of a single alpha 3 beta 4 nicotinic acetyl-choline receptor. In ""THE IBOGAINE STORY: Report on the Staten Island Project,"" Beal was the first to correlate ibogaine visualizations with the Penrose/Hameroff hypothesis of a photonic basis of consciousness in the microtubules of neurons, correctly intuiting that the “neuro-plastic“ function neurotrophins play in correcting longterm memory (Woolfe, 1998) heralded the findings of Ron, et al. in 2005-6—of a role for nerve growth factors such as GDNF in ibogaine’s persistent effect. In 2014 that led him to predict (correctly) that ibogaine would be effective for Parkinson’s disease. In Feb 2016, he issued an impassioned call during UNGASS for the countries of the World not to reflexively schedule ibogaine in the midst of a world opiate/methamphetamine crisis on account of the U.S. ban."

Psychedelic Feminism—Complexities & Community

Zoe Helene

Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Cosmic Sister

Zoe Helene coined and popularized the term Psychedelic Feminism and founded the environmental feminism collective Cosmic Sister (@CosmicSister) to champion the rights of women, wilderness, and wildlife, as well as the right to journey with psychoactive and psychedelic plants and fungi, our co-evolutionary allies. Zoe believes the grossly imbalanced “power-over,” late-stage patriarchal model will continue to lead humans down a devolutionary path ending in the destruction of life on Earth as we know it, and that a true balance of power across the gender spectrum—globally—is the only way humans (and non-humans) will survive. She advocates for intentional work with natural psychedelics as a way to jump-start rapid personal and cultural revolution, leading to higher relationship with self, other humans, and all living beings.

Energy Healing: Embrace the Medium

Jonathan Goldman interviewed by Maxi Cohen

Healer & Teacher - The Essential Light Institute

Jonathan Goldman has been teaching and practicing acupuncture, energy medicine, and spiritual healing for 40 years. He developed the work of Transformational Energy Healing and received and works with the Chakra Map, an interactive, unique, and accessible way of working with healing, viewing the auric field, and viewing and inhabiting the body and world we live in. Maxi Cohen is an award-winning film and video maker and artist. Her films have played in movie theaters, film festivals and television around the world, and have influenced two generations of filmmakers. As a media activist, her film and television work has had significant influence in creating visible social change. Her works have been exhibited internationally and are in the permanent collections of numerous museums, including the Museum of Modern Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; and National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Maxi has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, Annenberg Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Karan-Weiss Foundation, and more.

History, Mushrooms, and an Open Mind: A Conversation with Darren Springer

Darren Springer

Educator and Researcher

Darren Springer is an educator, researcher and event organizer based in the UK. Known around the world for his Shroomshop Master classes he is keen mushroom cultivator and teacher and has been growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms for the last ten years. By day he is an Organic Horticulturist and Food Enterprise tutor and has translated his home growing experience into a social enterprise. Darren is the mycologist in residence at Somerset House, one of the largest communities of arts and creative enterprises in the UK. He is also a qualified Permaculture teacher and facilitator and supports businesses and communities to create sustainable working systems and environments.

Darren Springer Track | Psychedelics in Islam

Sanae Orchi

Content creator / (African) Yoga Coach

Sanae Orchi is a content creator and shares videos to expand consciousness. She explores the mysteries of life, the nature of spirit & sense of self. Sanae has a background in (African) Yoga and bridges the technology of Yoga with Ancient Wisdom and Media as a tool for self-engineering.

Darren Springer Track | Transformational Medicine into Elder Years

Ayana Iyi

Ayana Iyi

Ayana Iyi is a modern day witch with ancient sensibilities, utilizing entheogenic plants in her work as a Psychic and Medium. Ayana has an intimate relationship to spirit going back to early childhood. Sharing many decades of experience working as a healer of immense knowledge and power. Incorporating teaching fungi into her work was the perfect compliment to accessing the ancient worlds of the divine feminine. Many testify to the fullness, depth and passion that Ayana brings to the Psychedelic community.

Darren Springer Track | Medicine as Magic: Exploring the Realms of Consciousness

Acacea Sherman

Creator of DVM LLC

Researcher of Entheogenic Tools for Exploration

Darren Springer Track | Environ-Mental Wellness with Plant Medicine

Omolewa (Darren Le Barron)

Entheogenic Midwife

Creating Change: Investing in Social Movements

Ashley Tate

Cofounder of Data Room

Ashley is an experienced neuroscience researcher and entrepreneur spending the last 5 years working on developing therapies for rare diseases. Most recently she has been leading and managing multiple teams in the development of cell-based therapies for Huntington’s disease. Her work at the University of Rochester Medical Center contributed to pre-Investigational New Drug studies at Oscine Therapeutics which was then acquired by Sana biotechnology. She continues her work with Sana focusing specifically on glial cell therapy. Ashley has a passion for science, social equality, and sustainability. She studied business administration at the University of Rochester focusing on finance and entrepreneurship. She has also developed systems to improve sustainability in growing cities focusing specifically on recycling processes and the gamification of daily “green actions”. Ashley holds an MBA from the Simon school of Business and a Bachelors from Cornell University.

Extracting Wisdom: New Tools of the Psychedelic Movement

Shauheen Etminan

Founder & CEO

Shauheen Etminan is a technology innovator and serial entrepreneur with a passion for creating social impact products and platforms that embody abundance, authenticity, reciprocity, and inclusion. He holds a track record for inventing proprietary equipment, hardware products and software platforms in multiple industries and is currently the founder of VCENNA, a psychedelics biotech company. Shauheen, and his team are leading a thoughtful business model integrating the shamanic ancient approach in collective healing with today’s knowledge in chemistry and pharmacology of natural psychoactive alkaloids to tackle the global mental health problem with safe, fast, and efficacious solutions.

Psychedelics for Recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury

Victor Acero

PhD Candidate

Victor Pablo Acero is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He is developing a tissue engineered in vitro model of hippocampal astrocyte-neuron networks. He plans to use this in vitro models to explore the effects and mode of action for novel and atypical psychedelic compounds, such as Salvinorin A. He plans to explore the effects of psychedelics on astrocytes, and how astrocytes might mediate the effects seen on neuronal cells.

The Magic Path to Decriminalization

William Goss

Mycologist, Advocate

I have 13 years experience in the field of mycology, starting at UC Davis, researching genetics, agriculture, and plant pathology. I’ve worked for Monterey Mushrooms, MycoWorks, the Decriminalize California campaign, in education, and consulting for various start-ups.

Visionary Art: A Visual Language

Ashley Spero

Spero

Spero channels energies through art~making. An artist, painter, sculptress, muralist, and installation curator; they are a color~weaver, fire~keeper, ancient spirit, forest creature based in the NC mountains, creating art and swimming in multidimensional spaces for over a decade.

The Next Step: Beyond Decriminalization

Phoenix M.K.

Harm Reduction Educator

"Phoenix AKA Mohawk ""The Rebel Educationist"" (they/them: formerly known as Mohawk the Educator) is a black, trans educator and technologist, who leverages vast multimedia and platforms to do advocacy and outreach for people who use drugs. They provide education and alternative, radical perspectives about drugs, drug policy, and related topics through a comedic, restorative lens. They are a harm reductionist, drug policy reform advocate, activist, and community organizer that participates in mutual aid. They are also a skilled technologist, writer, and educator. Phoenix is the technical program manager at Next Distro, a Youth RISE board member, and the regional outreach coordinator and president of New York DanceSafe, Inc., a nonprofit that started off as DanceSafe’s New York-based Chapter. As a longstanding member of music and nightlife communities, they organize and oversee harm reduction and health-and-safety outreach, centering the marginalized, in these communities within the northeast. They have collaborated with global harm reduction agencies such as ANKORS, Safe ‘n’ Sound, and Unity and organizations such as the Drug Policy Alliance and Harm Reduction Coalition. Phoenix gives lectures at Berkeley College and spreads awareness as ""The Rebel Educationist"" on multiple social media platforms."

Psychedelics in Society: Following the Cannabis Footprint

Priscilla Agoncillo

Priscilla P. Agoncillo is the CEO Original Breeders League, President National Cannabis Party, Pres. of CBDIA, Co-Founder OK Institute of Plant Molecule Medicine.

Psychedelics, Diversity & Inclusion

Steven Huang

Founder & CEO

Steven is diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) leader that is working to cultivate the power of psychedelics as a force of human connection, collaboration and progress. Steven has designed DEI software products and analytical frameworks used by hundreds of multinational organizations; his current focus is on leveraging psychedelics to reimagine a world through a shared, inclusive consciousness.

Morning Meditation with Daniel Shankin

Daniel Shankin

Founder of Mt. Tam Psychedelic Integration, Integration Coach

Transforming the Patient Experience in Mental Health Care

Lars Wilde

Co-Founder, President, CBO - COMPASS Pathways

Lars is an active serial entrepreneur in tech and biotech and a business angel, and has helped to successfully build several companies. Before joining COMPASS, Lars was the founder and CEO of Springlane, a leading European direct-to-consumer kitchen and BBQ brand and the largest German cooking magazine. Lars previously worked as an investor at Waterland Private Equity, one of the world’s best performing private equity funds. Amongst other buy-and-build investments, he focused on building VivaNeo, the largest European in-vitro fertilisation group, providing patients with cutting edge medical solutions. Lars has also spent time with Boston Consulting Group in Munich and São Paulo. Lars holds a master’s degree in Finance from IE Business School in Spain and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University in the Netherlands. He spent exchange semesters at the University of Münster, the Copenhagen Business School and the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Understanding Humanity: Relationships & Sexuality

Alice Sitar

Founder at Embodiment, Sexuality Coach and Speaker

Perspectives on Psychedelic Therapy & Research

Rachel Yehuda

Dr. Rachel Yehuda

Rachel Yehuda, Ph.D. is the Director of the Center for the Study of Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma, Vice Chair for Veterans Affairs for the Psychiatry Department and a Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as well as the Director of Mental Health at the Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division. Throughout her career her research has focused on the study of the enduring effects of trauma exposure, particularly PTSD, as well as associations between biological and psychological measures. She has investigated novel treatment approaches for PTSD and the biological factors that may contribute to differing treatment outcomes for the purpose of developing personalized medicine strategies for treatment matching in PTSD. This work has resulted in an approved US patent for a PTSD blood test. Recently, Dr Yehuda’s laboratory has used advances in stem cell technology to examine PTSD gene expression networks in induced neurons. The Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma integrates sophisticated brain imaging and molecular neuroscience in PTSD with clinical trials using MDMA assisted psychotherapy and other related medicines. She has authored more than 450 published papers, chapters, and books in the field of trauma and resilience, focusing on topics such as PTSD prevention and treatment, molecular biomarkers of stress vulnerability and resilience, and intergenerational effects of trauma and PTSD.

Psychedelic Law: A Closer Look

Robert W.E. Laurie

President AD LUCEM LAW CORPORATION, Barrister & Solicitor

AD LUCEM LAW CORPORATION was founded in 2013 by Robert W.E. Laurie, an international lawyer, qualified in England and called to the British Columbia Bar. Robert’s legal practice focuses on commercial business, government, regulatory issues, plus charter and constitutional legalities surrounding cannabis and psychedelic plant medicines. Robert has seventeen years of policy development and legal practice in corporate, commercial, and administrative law, plus licensing, regulatory, and constitutional charter experience concerning medical access to cannabis and psilocybin. As a lawyer in Canada, Robert works to reform drug laws. As a consultant, he devises regulatory, government policy, and business solutions for companies operating globally in the regulated food, cannabis, and psychedelic industries. Robert serves as a board advisor to MAPS Canada, the Last Prisoner Project, and SPORE Denver. He is a legal advisor to the Heroic Hearts Project, a founder of the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy, and a director of the Ecuador Amazon Restoration Project. Robert has been working and advocating tirelessly as a lawyer to improve medical patient access to cannabis, psychedelics and sacred plant medicines, and facilitate the reform of drug laws to better society. Robert advised Dr. Bruce Tobin and the TheraPsil Alliance litigation team (first Section 56 CDSA medical exemption for psilocybin). He was one of the Decriminalize Nature Canada Petition drafters, part of a national campaign to decriminalize restricted plant medicines and fungi in Canada. His goal is to help provide more options for doctors and treatments for patients dealing with anxiety, depression, addiction, and PTSD. Robert is an acclaimed international speaker, presenting at conferences and events on the laws surrounding cannabis, psychedelic, and entheogenic medicines in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Tryp Therapeutics: Innovating Health

Greg McKee

Greg McKee brings more than 20 years of biotechnology, life sciences management and leadership and venture investment experience to the company. Before joining Tryp, he founded Torrent Ventures, an early stage digital health and medical technology venture fund, and served as chief executive officer of CONNECT, the largest Southern California start-up accelerator creating and scaling innovative life sciences and technology companies. Prior to CONNECT he was chairman, president and chief executive officer publicly traded Nventa Biopharmacueticals which successfully merged with Akela Pharma. Additionally, he has held senior management roles at Genzyme Corporation, which was acquired by Sanofi for $22 billion. Mr. McKee has lived and worked in Tokyo, Japan for seven years managing a $550M investment portfolio at the Mizuho Group and as an investment banker with UBS. He was also senior advisor to the Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Additionally, Mr. McKee lived and worked in Singapore for 2 years, managing Genzyme's business units in South East Asia and mainland China.

Technology for Personal & Professional Growth

Tyler Bryden

Founder

Tyler Bryden is a passionate psychedelics advocate and speaker that works in technology, marketing, and mental health. He started his entrepreneurship journey after several profound personal healing experiences with plant medicine. Tyler and the team at Sessions.ai extract meaningful insights from personal journals and recorded sessions to help improve psychedelic research, therapy, and knowledge mobilization. Tyler personally supports MAPS Canada, the Canadian Psychedelic Association and other organizations in the space. He also started the Forest City Psychedelic Community in London, Ontario to bring together people to inform, inspire and heal.

The Evolution of Cannabis: A Promising Future

Tahira Rehmatullah

Tahira is Managing Director of Hypur Ventures, Partner of Big Tent Ventures, and member of the board of directors for Akerna Corp. From brand building to hedge funds, Tahira has previously held positions at Marley Natural, Privateer Holdings, City First Enterprises, Perry Capital, and Ernst & Young. She is an investor and advisor to numerous cannabis businesses and entrepreneurs, including the advisory board of The Initiative, and is dedicated to developing female and minority leadership in the industry. Tahira earned her MBA from the Yale School of Management and B.S. in Finance from The Ohio State University. She resides in New York City.