50 Disrupters in Sacred Medicine Who Actually Do Shit

Closing out the year and leading up to the National Psychedelic Conference we wanted to highlight people doing outstanding work many of whom will be in D.C. at the Conference. Enjoy!

It's been over a year since Psychedelic Invest released their 100 Most Influential Leaders in the Psychedelic Space, donning the usual suspects: Tim Ferriss, Joe Rogan, Hamilton Morris, and Michael Pollen.

These people have undoubtedly had a significant influence within the so-called "psychedelic renaissance," a name dubbed for the growing interest of predominantly white westerners venturing into the culture of Earth medicines and consciousness-altering substances that have been used by Black, Brown, and Indigenous healers for thousands of years.

Remember, these are substances that BIPOC communities continue to be policed for through the Drug War. And yet, former productivity "gurus" turned psychedelic advocates and famous white podcasters known for using racial slurs have pivoted their platforms to the latest trend without fear of repercussions. It's easy to lend your voice to the underground when you're not held to the same prosecution standards. 

When Psychedelic Invest's piece was initially released, Oakland Hyphae knew we needed to create a counter-narrative to shift the voice to those often overlooked within the mainstream psychedelic space. While this list is more diverse than other psychedelic lists, we recognize that it’s far from comprehensive. 

We hope this list serves as an invitation for those with larger platforms to follow suit in truly working towards building (and uplifting) a diverse ecosystem of practitioners, citizen scientists, medicine weavers, and space holders who continue to inspire us in their everyday service to community and contributions to this space.

You can find many of these folks in Washington D.C. December 17-18 at the National Psychedelic Conference. Click this link for tickets! As a loyal Oakland Hyphae supporter use the promo code: LOYALTY for 20% off of the 2 day conference ticket price!

Acacea Kailen Lewis

Acacea Sherman-Lewis is a researcher of plant medicine and founder of Divine Master Alchemy, an online class series dedicated to advancing education within the Entheogenic community.

Acacea believes that by understanding how ancient and modern indigenous cultures speak about plant medicine and the available medical research, students can learn how to become more proficient in their work with plant medicine. The background of Divine Master Alchemy was built after Acacea witnessed her and many of her peers in the psychedelic community noticing their own physical and psychological ailments.

Through research and working with entheogens, she discovered a pattern between their diets and the experiences that were taking place inside the Entheogenic journey. After a few years of bringing herbs and plant medicines from around the world and sharing them with her peers, she learned how to derive formulas based on ancient anthropological research, medical research and indigenous views of utilizing herbs and psychedelics for physical healing.

Acacea teaches online classes and is also a lecturer. She is currently working on a project to allow her students to explore collaborative 3d learning environments that contain mapped connections to the history, experiences, cultural and ritual applications, anthropological research and much more about plant medicine. Acacea has been working with Entheogens since she was a teenager and currently focuses on Mixtec and Zapotec Psilocybin Zapotecorum as a tool for conscious exploration.

Acacea was a student of the late Baba Kilindi Iyi and has also trained with various teachers from India, Mexico, the U.K., and several Lakota tribes. Acacea also worked with Taoist and Tibetan systems with her late Wife, Malati Lewis, who practiced Buddhism with the guidance of her elders and the use of the psilocybin mushroom, who initially inspired Divine Master Alchemy through their vacations in the multiverse together. Acacea's background academically is in Astrophysics and Geophysics.

However, her passion for plant medicine has taken priority over the past decade as she uses the tools she learned as a researcher in Variable star physics and paleontology to delve into hidden areas of lost knowledge and brings back relevant details that can help us better understand our role as humans in other dimensions and novel states of consciousness.

Currently, Acacea resides in Oakland and Oaxaca, Mexico part time and is contributing to the conservation effort of indigenous mushroom species in the Sierra Madre region of the cloud forests of Oaxaca.

Instagram: @acacea_lewis

A Table of Our Own ( Ayize Jama-Everett, Leticia Brown, Kufikiri Imara, Tony Moss)

Ayize Jama-Everett: Ayize graduated from Starr King School for the ministry in 2001 with a Master's of Divinity. Soon after, he began teaching the Course "The Sacred and the Substance," one of the first survey courses on sacred plant use at the Graduate Theological Union. The thesis advisor was the late Ibrahim Farajaje-jones, who also served as his mentor. 

In 2003, Ayize received a Master's degree in Clinical psychology from the New College of California. Soon after, he began doing individual work using sacred plants to help facilitate therapeutic journeys for various people. In 2019, he received a Master in Fine Arts, Creative Writing from The University of California, Riverside. 

Ayize's focus has been consistently on underrepresented communities in the sacred plant community. He's spoken and taught at the Graduate Theological Union, The University of California, Berkeley, Yale's Young scholar program, 

Kings College of London, Howard University, the University of San Francisco, Spore, and Psychedelics Today, to name a few.

Ayize is the author of four books. His shorter works can be found in The L.A. Review of Books, The Wakanda Dream labs, The Believer, and Racebaitr.

Leticia Brown is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Sex Therapist. She works with Q.T.P.O.C. individuals, couples & polycules and specializes in trauma work and a range of sexuality-related issues. Leticia is getting a PhD in Human Sexuality.

Kufikiri Imara was born and raised on the Huichin territory of the Ohlone people (Oakland, California). With their parents involved in the Civil Rights and Black Power movements of the 1960s and 1970s, he grew up in a family and community that strongly emphasized cultural awareness and social responsibility.

He volunteered with the Green Earth Poets Society in N.Y.C., bringing poetry to incarcerated African-American youth. He was an early member of the Entheogen Integration Circle in N.Y.C., supporting marginalized communities. His friendship with Sacred Garden Community as a facilitator is focused on growing diversity.

A former member of the Decriminalize Nature Oakland grassroots collective, he went on to head the D.N.O. committee on Outreach, Education, Access, & Integration. He was part of a team of instructors for a first-of-its-kind above-ground training, with the former O.L.P., in Jamaica for psychedelic-assisted therapy.

He lent his voice to the Horizons Media documentary Covid-19, Black Lives, & Psychedelics. He also facilitates a BIPOC Entheogen Integration Circle with the San Francisco Psychedelic Society. Kufikiri Imara is a recognized voice in championing the crucial issues of access, education, and inclusion within the larger psychedelic community.

Sara Reed, MS, L.M.F.T. is a licensed marriage and family therapist and the creative executive of mind's iHealth Solutions, a mental health technology and service company committed to changing how we talk about and treat mental illness. As a mental health futurist and former clinical researcher, Sara examines how culture informs how we diagnose and treat mental illness.

Her prior research includes participating as a study therapist in psychedelic therapy research at Yale University and the University of Connecticut's Health Center. Sara is a scientific advisor for Journey Colab and a current board member of the Board of Psychedelic Medicines and Therapies.

Tony Moss: is a recording artist, producer, and founder of I.AM.LIFE, which is a non-profit music label, and event production company focused on music as medicine. It's used for traditional and contemporary ceremonies and psycho-spiritual therapy.

His work synthesizes passions in art, spirituality, and science, emphasizing the evolution of human consciousness and potential.

With over 25 years of experience with "plant medicine" work, Tony is an enthusiastic public advocate for the decriminalization and responsible use of all plant medicines.

Instagram: @mosstony

Instagram: @atableofourownofficial

Big Psych

Big Psych is an activist and education organization that centers everyday people in the plant medicine community. We can evolve with cohesion and empathy by integrating traditional, scientific, spiritual, environmental, and communal explorations of plant medicine—the many ways of knowing collective anchor progress.

This organization advocates for sustainable healing, open conversation, and creative exploration. They support everyday people's ability to experience, integrate, and contribute.

We are experiencing transformative, revolutionary times, and Big Psych is a contribution to this movement. The liberation of plant medicine is not a separate evolution. It is a unifying expedition of mental wealth and joint stability. Big Psych wants to cultivate a community that aligns with accessibility, representation, and personal agency.

Instagram:@big.psych

Dr. Carl Hart

Carl L. Hart, PhD, is a neuroscientist and psychologist studying the behavioral and neuropharmacological effects of psychoactive drugs in humans. Specifically, he aims to understand the factors that mediate drug use behaviors to develop more effective treatments for substance-dependent individuals. Hart is the chair of the department of psychology at Columbia University and a Dirk Ziff professor of psychology and psychiatry. Hart is one of the first tenured African-American professors of science at an Ivy League institution of higher learning. Hart received his PhD in neuroscience from the University of Wyoming. He also serves as a research scientist on the Division on Substance Abuse at the New York State Psychiatric Institution which studies the behavioral and neuropharmological mechanisms of drug-related effects in humans. Hart is a member of the National Advisory Council of Drug Abuse and a board member of the Drug Policy Alliance.

Instagram: @carlhart

Colin Wells

Colin Wells is a veteran, advocate, writer, and the founder of Veterans Walk and Talk. V.W.A.T. was formed in 2016 as an outdoor peer therapy hiking group focused on traditional therapies to heal our deepest wounds.

He refers to V.W.A.T. and its approach as Guerrilla Wellness, doing whatever it takes to help heal the veteran community. He has walked and talked with veterans from California to Maryland and many states in between. There are now multiple V.W.A.T. chapters all over the country.

Colin is a veteran of Afghanistan, having served in the Army Infantry. Through V.W.A.T., he gives free psychedelic micro doses and cannabis medicines to its members during the hikes. V.W.A.T. members who show up consistently are also given an opportunity for more profound healing through various means. 

Wells is a published writer and has spoken at various levels of government on behalf of veteran wellness. Read more about the V.W.A.T. mission at www.veteranswalkandtalk.com.

Courtney Watson

Courtney Watson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and AASECT Certified Sex therapist. She is the owner of Doorway Therapeutic Services, a group therapy practice in Oakland, CA, focused on addressing the mental health needs of Black, Indigenous & People of Color, Queer folks, Trans, Gender Non-conforming, Nonbinary and Two-Spirit individuals.

Courtney has followed the direction of her ancestors to incorporate psychedelic-assisted therapy into her offerings for folks with multiple marginalized identities and stresses the importance of BIPOC and Queer providers offering these services.

Courtney has received training from the Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research at C.I.I.S., MAPS and Polaris Insight Center to provide psychedelic-assisted therapy with various medicines. She is deeply interested in the impact of psychedelic medicines on folks with marginalized identities and how they can assist with the decolonization process for the folx of the global majority.

She believes the above-ground is not yet ready to address the unique needs of Communities of Color and is prepared and enthusiastic about bridging the gap. She is currently blazing the trail as one of the only clinics of predominantly Q.T.B.I.P.O.C. providers offering Ketamine Assisted Therapy in 2021.

She has founded a non-profit, Access to Doorways, to raise funds to subsidize the cost of ketamine/psychedelic-assisted therapy for Q.T.B.I.P.O.C. clients (now accepting donations for our first 100 recipients!!).

When not in the office seeing clients or in meetings for the businesses she leads, she's watching Nickelodeon with her kids, working on her dissertation and more than likely taking a nap!

Instagram: @doorwaytherapeutics

Darren Springer

He is an Organic Horticulturist and Permaculture tutor who supports schools, businesses and so-called hard-to-reach communities worldwide to create holistic and sustainable working systems.

Darren is a knowledgeable and dynamic speaker passionate about sharing his research and findings on ancient African plant medicines, their history and various applications.

He is a member and presenter at the London Psychedelic Society and a chair and Breaking Convention committee member. He is also a regular presenter at the Detroit Psychedelic Conference, Ozora, Noisily and Lightning in a Bottle Festivals, as well as numerous gatherings around the world, sharing his extensive research on psychedelics and how they can help support humanity in the here and now.

Collectively his work aims to inform and empower individuals from diverse backgrounds to cope with social challenges and contribute to community development as well as self-improvement in an innovative, creative, culturally-aware style.

Instagram: @darren_le_baron

Dave Hodges

Dave Hodges is the founder of the Church of Ambrosia and Pastor for Zide Door, the Church of Entheogenic Plants in Oakland. He is known for starting the first medical cannabis club in San Jose, creating the open-source California Legalization Initiative M.C.L.R., and working with High Dose Mushrooms to explore the origins of religion.

Dave has spent the past 15 years fighting legal cases to protect sacred plants he believes in. His most recent court victory was against the Country of Czechia, where he successfully defended the rights of foreign medical marijuana patients to possess and use their medical cannabis in the country.

He is preparing for his next major legal fight, a federal lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department for the illegal raid on his church and their violation of its religious freedom. Dave has a strong understanding of the effects of laws, the applications of laws in the legal system, and how to create new initiatives that support the markets they affect. 

Instagram: @davehemp

David Bronner

David Bronner is the Cosmic Engagement Officer (C.E.O.) of Dr Bronner's, the family-owned top-selling natural soap brand in North America. The company caps Executive salaries at five times the lowest paid fully-vested position and donates all profits not needed for business development to causes and charities they believe in.

David graduated with a degree in Biology from Harvard in '95. By the end of that year, his heart and mind were blown wide open by psychedelic medicine while living in Amsterdam. Ever since, he's been dedicated to the responsible integration of cannabis and entheogens into American and global culture.

He joined the MAPS board (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) in 2015. In 2019 he launched the non-profit cannabis flower brand Brother David's to support Sun and Earth certification of cannabis grown under the sun, in the soil, without chemicals and with fair labor.

He also serves on the board of the Regenerative Organic Alliance, which promotes regenerative organic agriculture and ethical dietary choice, to support a more humane, sustainable, and fair farming system worldwide.

Instagram: @drbronner

Decriminalize Nature ( Carlos Plazola, Larry Norris)

Carlos Plazola:

Is the antisemitic anti Black and Indigenous chair of Decriminalize Nature. He is the reason that many of the Black, Brown and Indigenous people who support decrim efforts and mission have walked away from the organization. He has been anti Black toward myself and my countless of my coworkers but most recently he produced conspiracy theory images aimed toward David Bronner that used the gold star of David complete with age old anti Semitic tropes. He is also a developer who has helped gentrify Oakland. He gives nothing to grassroots causes out of the millions that he has made. He is a self admitted former lobbyist who helped “fuck up” cannanbis! He has said that he just formed his relationship with mushrooms in 2018! He operates a bar that used to be a police bar in Jack London square. He gives NOTHING to grassroots organizations in the psychedelic movement but rather he goes out of his way to tear them down and disparage them. Ever wonder why Decrim Nature Oakland doesn’t exist anymore? Thank Carlos for piss poor leadership. Unfortunately, the movement is right but the leadership SUCKS!

Larry Norris:

Larry is the Executive Director & Co-Founder of E.R.I.E. (Entheogenic Research Integration & Education) and co-founder of Decriminalize Nature alongside Carlos Plazola. E.R.I.E. is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to sharing entheogenic and transpersonal knowledge in a non-hierarchical, community-based format located in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Moudou Baqui served as the spokesperson and principal organizer of the 2021 Decriminalization of Entheogens in Detroit under Prop E. Under the tutelage of "Ahati" (Grandmaster) Kilyndi Iyi, he studied African combative martial arts, sacred plants use, and culture for over 20 years; in this pursuit, he was exposed to the knowledge and application, cultivation and cultural history of entheogens.

He has continued his studies of ancient human history, metacognition and entheogens via travel on several continents. He has been a returning speaker at Breaking convention and several other platforms throughout the U.K., Germany, Turkey, Africa and the Americas.

He is the founder of H.U.U.D. Noetics (Healing underserved Urban communities through Unleashed Divinity) current focus is utilizing the Psychedelic experience as a therapeutic tool for addiction and depression and educating the public on the major benefits of these substances. He is currently a Decriminalize Nature National Board member. Moudou also serves as a cultivation educator, psychedelic sitter/teacher/ guide.

Mrs Vicius is an intuitive card and energy reader, advocate, speaker, educator and cultivator who focuses on integrating plant medicines in a family setting. After suffering from treatment-resistant depression upon the birth of her 1st child in 2017, she left behind traditional pharmaceuticals in favor of plant medicines.

She has used her social media platform to showcase how to use plant medicines for P.T.S.D., anxiety and depression within a family setting for the last 5 years.

Mrs Vicius believes that there is an undeniable spiritual aspect when using entheogenic plant medicines and that it includes honoring the original stewards, teachers and our ancestral family through methods of healing in conjunction with natural medicines as a part of daily integration.

After fine-tuning her cultivation skills from Detroit's psychedelic Father, Baba Kilindi Iyi, Mrs Vicius founded Decriminalize Nature Hazel Park in 2020 and is an active member of Decriminalize Nature Michigan. The city of Hazel Park decriminalized entheogenic plants and fungi officially on 3/22/22 with the help of her leadership. 

I.G.: @decriminalizenature

Dennis Walker

Dennis Walker is a 5th-degree karate blackbelt and avid birdwatcher. He watched Fantastic Fungi once and then immediately started a microdose company. Now, he travels the midwest as a regional microdose salesman and enjoys topiary, backgammon, and A.I. technology. Dennis also hosts the Mycroprenuer podcast and is a master of satire, shedding light and roasting the psychedelic space (and its holier-than-thou patrons) for its often insufferable qualities. You can find him @mycropreneurpodcast on Instagram.

Instagram: @mycopreneurpodcast

Destiny and D' Rok Tha Menace

Destiny Rok & D'rok, both Los Angeles natives and founders of the non-profit Black People, Need Psychedelics. They created this non-profit so people of color who may have come from similar walks of life feel comfortable enough to know more about psychedelics.

They’re both from communities that believe psychedelics are for white people. Thus, they've made it their mission to break that stigma through education, harm reduction, integration, and holding space. Through a series of events, BIPOC can freely learn about and explore the wonders of psychedelics.

I.G.: @b.p.n.psychedelics

Dr Joseph McCowan

Joseph McCowan, Psy.D is a licensed clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in Los Angeles as a co-therapist in the MAPS-sponsored phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for P.T.S.D. He is an alumnus of MAPS August 2019 MDMA Therapy Training for Communities of Color.

Joseph is passionate about furthering education and awareness of the healing benefits of psychedelics for communities of color and working to improve mental health outcomes for historically underserved communities. He can be reached at drjmccowan@gmail.com.

Instagram: @drjmccowan

Elan Hagens (Fruiting Bodies) 

Elan Hagens has been a lifelong lover of all things to do with the outdoors, animals and art. As an Oregon-born and raised child, she attended every outdoor camp and class she could participate in. It quickly taught her about equity and access to NatureNature at a young age.

As an adult, she became well known for her work with dogs, and participated in a T.V. show and began training them how to hunt for native truffles. In 2011 she became Temptress Truffles and started a business providing wild edibles at markets, classes and outdoor experiences.

This career has led her into the life she dreamed up as a child and has led her to work as a mental health and earth medicine advocate. 2 years ago, she founded Fruiting Bodies Collective when Oregon voters passed the Psilocybin services measure.

She serves on the State Health Equity Subcommittee and several other drug policy/reform initiatives. Her love of connecting people to the joys and healing of Nature is what motivates her daily.

Instagram: temptresstruffles

Gabi Curandeira

Gabrielle is a multidisciplinary teacher and holistic healer from Washington, DC. She spent 8 years training as a medicine woman and curandera in Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous traditions with shamans in Bahia, Brazil.

She incorporates healing traditions from her lineage, reiki, sacred earth medicines, sound healing, transpersonal therapy techniques and deep knowledge of trauma psychology to help others learn how to heal themselves and foster a deeper connection with the divine within and all around.

She is a mother, a high school teacher and a proud graduate of Spelman College.

Instagram: @gabi.curandeira

High-End Affair (Nikki Steward + Josh Richardson) 

Chef Nikki Steward, the creator of The High-End Affair, is one of the country's most sought-after culinary entertainment chefs. Chef Nikki is a master in the art of cooking and conversation. Put her in front of a crowd, and she'll spend hours spinning stories about life, local culture and cuisine.

A culinary artist who has prepared gastronomical experiences for corporate leaders, celebrities, athletes and social influencers! Her international travels have enabled her to study under executive chefs from around the world.

She's toured with Dj Khaled and curated dinners for celebs, including Snoop Dogg and Quavo. In front of dinner crowds, she spins stories about life, culture and local cuisine.

Josh Richardson is the co-founder of The High-End Affair, curated infused-culinary experiences for celebrities, foodies, and brands around the world. Due to their open kitchen policy, guests are allowed to interact with the kitchen chefs and be an active part of the experience from start to end.

Culinary experiences feature CBD and T.H.C.-infused cocktails, infused dinners, and live entertainment performances. He is an advocate for sacred plant medicines across the board with a healthy knowledge of the psilocybin mushroom space, having over a decade of experience in both use and cultivation. 

Instagram: @thehighendaffair

House of Jah’Siri ( Nyanga Uuka & Evan Segura)

Nyanga Uuka is an African ascendant of chattel slavery, born on stolen n colonized land (U.S.A.). Nyanga was trained & certified as a Community Health Worker in 2013 and has since been serving his community by way of; Grassroots organizing, Birth Doula work, and conflict resolution (Mediator, Restorative/Transformative practitioner). 

He is the founder of "House of Jah'siri", an Entheogenic Church that focuses on Divine Healing thru' psilocybin, a Revolutionary Livity and a purified connection to NatureNature. 

Evan Segura is a Chicano traveler living on Chinook Land (Portland, OR). Evan is a traveler, educator, mental health counselor and community organizer. He is president of the Portland Psychedelic Society.

This non-profit organization supports psychedelic healing through education and integration circles. He is also a facilitator through the House of Jah'Siri, the entheogenic church.

Instagram: @house_of_jahsiri

Hyphae Labs ( Michael Ian Bollinger, Emily Savage, Tomas Garrett)

Ian Michael Bollinger:

A dedicated researcher, scientist and host of the Understanding Entheogens Podcast. 

Advising harm reduction through education by working with the entheogen decriminalization movement in the S.F. Bay Area since passing, Ian dedicates his time to churches, non-profits, and public benefit corporations to bring scientific insights from the growing entheogen space to the public through his writings, podcast, and outreach.

Emily Savage:

Emily holds a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a minor in Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University. Growing up in Cannabis cultivation and holding a personal interest in mycology and entheogens for over 15 years, she dedicated 5 years to Cannabis science.

Throughout her short career, she has published in scientific literature, served on scientific committees, and given scientific presentations to audiences ranging from children to academics. Currently, she spends her days in a genetics laboratory focused on the plant, microbial, and fungal genetics to meet our current environmental challenges.

Tomás Garrett B.S, EMBA

Chief Operating Officer

Hyphae Labs

Beginning his scientific career with Eurofins, the world leader in food, environmental, and pharma testing, Tomás developed an extensive analytical background as an investigative chemist. While earning his Executive M.B.A. from the Lubar School of Business in 2018, Tomás moved to California to extend his chemistry career into the cannabis industry, joining Steep Hill Labs.

After the 2019 landmark decriminalization of entheogens in Oakland, CA, Tomás met a collective of scientists, mycologists, and activists at a Decriminalize Nature event that galvanized the push toward testing entheogens since Tomás has his breadth of experience in business and analytical testing to help pave the way forward in this burgeoning industry as the C.O.O. of Hyphae Labs.

Instagram: @hyphaelabs

Ismail Ali - Sage Izzy 

Ismail Lourido Ali is Policy & Advocacy Counsel for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), where he supports developing and implementing strategies to create legal access to psychedelic substances in medical, sacramental, and personal contexts.

Instagram: @sage_izzy

Jason Ortiz + Jake Plowden + Oriana + Executive Director of S.S.D.P.

Jacob Plowden is the New York State Director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy (S.S.D.P.). He organizes and coordinates with communities and campuses to better grasp drug policy in local municipalities and career-based opportunities throughout the state.

Oriana (she/her/Ella) is many things: she is a queer, cis-woman of colour, first-generation New Yorker, anti-oppression organizer, interfaith chaplain, activist-theologian, drug user, big sister, tia, and partner to many lovers, currently residing on unceded Lenape Munsee land.

Oriana has been a part of the psychedelic movement for a little over a decade, helping to center the needs/desires/dreams of people of color nationally while also pushing back against oppressive people and structures. 

After recently completing her two-year term as a board member for Students for Sensible Drug Policy and a six-month term with SPORE, Oriana now serves as a board member for Faith in Harm Reduction.

This past May, Oriana received her Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary/Columbia University; her concentration: is social ethics. Oriana's roots are Caribbean and Latin American; her primary spiritual care language is Spanish. 

Oriana is passionate about pleasure, ethics, joy, challenging whiteness, sharing power and promoting racial justice. In 2019, Oriana was one of the four founders of Empyrean and the first-ever national BIPOC-led psychedelic conference (Fun Fact? Empyrean took place here at the Eaton in September 2019)! 

Instagram: @ssdpofficial

Julie Barron

Julie Barron is a pioneer of the Michigan psychedelic community and an activist for decriminalization throughout the U.S. For over 25 years, Julie Barron has extensively researched and trained in the health benefits and use of cannabis and entheogenic plants/fungi.

Instagram: @bluesage.health

Langstyn Avery

Langstyn Avery is the co-creator of Negus in Nature and the Bay Area community advocate. With many years of cultivating community globally, Langstyn has been the brains behind many strategies behind the scenes of the arts and entertainment community.

During the 2020 pandemic, he saw the need for a safe space for Black people to explore and heal in Nature. Langstyn combined his 10 years of experience as a Bay Area event curator and love for Nature, and Negus and Nature were born.

Instagram: @negusinnature

Leonard Pickard

"Alleged to have produced ‘90% of the world's L.S.D.,’" 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 U.C.L.A. With two life sentences without parole, he served 20 years in maximum security federal prisons for the the largest LSD manufacturing case in history and was released in 2020.

His book The Rose of Paracelsus — written in pencil while imprisoned — will be published in Italian in 2022 by Mondadori (Milan) and by Synergetic Press (Santa Fe/ London).

His 1996 prediction of the fentanyl epidemic, and recommendations for prevention, were confirmed by RAND. He is a senior advisor on scientific advisory boards of J.L.S. Fund LP, PsyGen, and the Fireside Project.

Lizzy Jeff

Lizzy Jeff's passion for global healing, sacred activism, & sensual, creative expression has placed her at the top of a new wave. She is the Leader of a new, emerging renaissance dedicated to elevating consciousness through plant medicine education, social justice awareness, & curated events.

 She's an activist on many levels, leading people into personal evolution & spiritual awakening.

Having curated and hosted hundreds of events, Lizzy Jeff is a woman who has activated her platform to amplify stories that need to be heard. She has performed and spoken at dozens of community gatherings & festivals.

She advocates for the voiceless, creating potent opportunities for her community.

Instagram: @lizzyjeff

Madison Margolin

Madison is a journalist straddling California, New York, and Israel-Palestine focused on psychedelics, cannabis, and Judaism. I also cover culture, policy, and science.

She is passionate and curious about how people can transcend their minds to access something greater than themselves — be it through getting high off acid or God, meditating, creating art, or something somatic. Madison has set out to explore the various ways people nourish their souls.

It is what drives her, and most of my writing. In some way or another, connects back to this theme.

Madison is also the co-founder of DoubleBlind Magazine, covering psychedelics and where they intersect with mental health, spirituality, environmental justice, and social equity.

She also co-founded the Jewish Psychedelic Summit and hosts a podcast called Set & Setting on the Be Here Now Network. She has been practicing journalism since 2014 and has been published in outlets like Rolling Stone, Vice, Playboy, High Times, Tablet, and Nylon, among others.

She got my start with a column on cannabis at the Village Voice just after graduating from Columbia Journalism School. Before that, she lived in Tel Aviv, working with Israel's African refugee community. In my past life, she also lived at a crazy co-op called Cloyne while studying rhetoric and linguistics at UC Berkeley. 

Instagram: @madisonmargolin

Mary Carreon 

Mary Carreon is an independent journalist, editor, and podcaster from Southern California. She reports on Schedule I drugs and the myriad ways they impact our culture. She also co-hosts a podcast called Erased where she reports on the climate crisis and environmental news.

Mary is passionate about many things, including women’s rights, Indigenous affairs, global cultures, the solutions hemp and fungi can provide against pollution and climate change, and the power of the written word. Mary's a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and Society of Environmental Journalists and is a 2022 SEJ Fellow. You can find Mary's work in KCRW, Billboard, DoubleBlind Magazine, The LAnd Magazine, MERRY JANE, Kitchen Toke Magazine, High Times Magazine, OC Weekly, Forbes, and more.

Instagram: @maryyyprankster

Mikayla (Mama Del Myco) 

Mikaela de la Myco comes from a multi-cultural, first-generation Italian, afro-caribbean, and indigenous Mexican family who lived in the Los Angeles - unceded Tongva territory.

Her education path has led her down the ways of sacred intimacy work and the temple arts, indigenous Mexican ceremony, and womb healing facilitation in the ma'at tradition, all under the care of a colorful variety of teachers and guides.

Instagram: @mamadelamyco

Mohawk Greene

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 harm reductionists, drug policy reform advocates, activists, and community organizers participating in mutual aid. They are also skilled technologists, writers, and educators.

Instagram: @pheonix.mohawk

Monica Cadena

Monica Cadena is an Afro-Xicana California-based plant medicine ally, psychedelic journalist, and digital strategist with work featured in Forbes, Vanity Fair, Self Magazine, and Elle, among others. Monica's passionate about highlighting stories from those at the intersections of healing and social justice activism, drug policy decriminalization efforts across the nation, indigenous sovereignty, and harm reduction.

Monica works with various organizations within the psychedelic and entheogenic space as the former Co-Executive Director of SPORE, The Society for Psychedelic Outreach, Reform and Education, a collaborator with Oakland Hyphae, The Ancestor Project and DoubleBlind Magazine. Connect with Monica on Instagram at @sacred.alchemist

Monica Williams

Dr Monnica T. Williams is a board-certified licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa in the School of Psychology. She is the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities. She is also the Clinical Director of the Behavioral Wellness Clinic in Connecticut. She provides supervision and training to clinicians for empirically-supported treatments.

Before her move to Canada, Dr Williams was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School (2007-2011), the University of Louisville in Psychological and Brain Sciences (2011-2016), where she served as the director of the Center for Mental Health Disparities, and the University of Connecticut (2016-2019) where she had appointments in both Psychological Science and Psychiatry.

Dr Williams' research focuses on BIPOC mental health, culture, and psychopathology. She has published over 150 scientific articles on these topics. Current projects include the assessment of race-based trauma, barriers to treatment in O.C.D., improving cultural competence in the delivery of mental health care services, and interventions to reduce racism. It includes her work as a P.I. in a multisite study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for P.T.S.D. people of color.

She also gives diversity training nationally for clinical psychology programs, scientific conferences, and community organizations. She has served as the African American SIG leader for the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (A.B.C.T.). She is Chair of their Academic Training & Education Standards (A.T.E.S.). She serves as an Associate Editor of Behavior Therapy. She also serves on the editorial board of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Canadian Psychology, International Journal of Mental Health, Journal of Psychedelic Studies, the Journal of Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders and the Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.

She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International O.C.D. Foundation, and co-founded their Diversity Council. Her work has been featured in several major media outlets, including NPR, C.B.S., Huffington Post, and the New York Times.

Nicole Foerster

Nicole is a healthcare professional, an advocate for psilocybin mushrooms as a treatment for cluster headaches, and a proponent for decriminalizing entheogenic plants and fungi in Colorado. Founder and Co-Director of Decriminalize Nature Boulder County, established in February of 2020 after their work on the i301 campaign to decriminalize psilocybin in Denver in 2019.

They have since advised various political and education campaigns in the plant medicine policy space, including organizing local decriminalization efforts in Boulder, Colorado, serving as co-proponent of Colorado Initiative 61, and their outspoken critic of the Natural Medicine Health Act.

By organizing grassroots community engagement, Nicole has worked to advocate for policy in Colorado that will support populations that systemic issues have historically targeted in the criminal justice and healthcare systems.

Instagram: @kainfoerst

Niko Summers

Niko Summers is a fifth-generation herbalist from a long line of root workers and midwives. He's a native San Franciscan who became fascinated by fungi while studying their medicinal properties.

In 2020, Niko founded Native Mushrooms, a mycology company that cultivates rare and medicinal species. When not studying herbs or fungi, Niko likes to go foraging in the woods or spend time in his garden.

Instagram: @nativemushrooms

P.O.C. Fungi Community

Community-based learning, respectfully going outdoors, and honoring the land we're on is of utmost importance to the P.O.C Fungi Community.

Ethics plays a huge role in this community. They pratice what they preach: They never harvest excessively or "hunt" mushrooms as a sport or for their collections. Instead, they want to set an intention to begin a relationship with our fungal relatives in a mutually beneficial way.

They also intend to preserve what’s learned in the process and pass it on to the next generation people who will inherit the Earth. Prior fungi knowledge is optional, and you do not need to be an expert in the field of mycology to participate. In this community, there’s no hierarchy, and it is inclusive to all levels of knowledge and experience with fungi. Group learning and relationship building are a big part of our community's intention.

Building relationships with plants, trees, fungi, animals and human folx can provide all the medicine needed to inspire and support your journey and experience. The P.O.C. Fungi Community aims to support healing and promote resilience within ourselves, our families, and our communities.

Families, tiny ones, are always welcome and encouraged to attend. Your immigration status, gender identity, and sexual orientation matter; we want to recognize you and make everyone feel safe and included.

Instagram: @pocfungicommunity

Queerly Psychedelic

Cy (they/them) is an instigator of Queer self-love through psychedelics and a devoted mycologist. A former rave kid, Cy, started their intentional use of substances over a decade ago, consuming cannabis to ease persistent insomnia.

They have since engaged with various entheogenic substances for trauma healing and self-actualization. As someone that transitioned later in life, Cy fully grasps the need for 2SLGBTQIA+ folks to explore sexuality and gender identity while recognizing that psychedelics offer a unique opportunity to do so.

Cy left their 20-year career to pursue mycology and organize within the psychedelic community. Galvanized by their own experiences and those graciously shared by other Queer folks, Cy created Queerly Psychedelic. They now speak about their experiences and co-host in-person events. They offer an online and in-person space for Queer folks to cultivate community.

Instagram: @queerlypsychedelic

Reggie Harris

Reggie has over a decade of political campaign experience ranging from city council races to presidential elections. On the West Coast, Reggie worked locally to replace police with guidance counsellors in Oakland public schools with the Black Organizing Project in West Oakland. More recently, he managed the western and southwestern state campaigns with Color of Change P.A.C. that turned the state of Nevada blue.

Reggie has consulted with the largest mushroom cultivators in the world. He has worked with the largest cultivators in The Netherlands. Reggie has recently advised establishing the largest commercial mushroom farm and state-of-the-art testing lab in Jamaica.

Over the past two years, Reggie has established Oakland Hyphae, which hosted the Psilocybin Cup and The Oakland Psychedelic Conference, the most impactful psychedelic event of 2021. He co-founded Hyphae Labs, leading the industry in psychedelic mushroom potency testing.

Reggie founded Hyphae Nootropics, offering adaptogenic medicinal fungi from Cordyceps to Lion's Mane. He is a strong advocate for who he calls "the little guy" or the "legacy plant medicine workers". It is Reggie's goal to create barriers of entry to prevent big money interest groups from the same industry take over they did in cannabis. Ultimately, he aims to protect the legacy plant medicine workers from corporate vultures.

He also has over ten years of domestic experience in the U.S. cannabis industry. Reggie is a member of the Advisory Board for Decriminalizing Nature and is active and passionate in The Movement for Black Lives and the abolition of the police state.

Instagram: @oakland.hyphae

Rhana Hashemi, MS (Mikayla, Kirya, Oriana)

Rhana Hashemi is a Bay Area-based drug educator, a national expert in youth overdose prevention and harm reduction, and a PhD student in Social Psychology at Stanford. She holds an M.S. in Community Health Prevention Research from Stanford School of Medicine and a B.A in Social Welfare with honors from UC Berkeley.

People have always had relationships with mind-altering drugs. Historically, drugs have been used for medicinal, spiritual, recreational, and ceremonial purposes. They have also always carried risks and dangers that people should be aware of.

But health messages geared at teens that focus solely on the negative consequences of drugs and urge abstinence as the only safe choice are ineffective and fall short.

Teens need unbiased conversations about the realities of drug use, harm reduction information so they are prepared to reduce their risk of harm if they choose to use drugs, and trusted adults they can turn to without fear of shame or punishment.

Unfortunately, most education and health messaging around drugs in the U.S. is stuck in an abstinence-only paradigm. It fails to reach the teens that may say 'Yes', 'Maybe', or 'Sometimes'. 

To fill this void, Rhana founded Know Drugs to help schools become aware of and successfully implement evidence-based prevention and harm reduction education programs that prevent teen overdoses, stigma, and risky drug use.

Applying her experience as a teenager who struggled with a problematic relationship with drugs, Rhana’s work is informed by academic research, guided by community partnerships, and tested by on-the-ground practice. 

Rhana’s work has been featured in major news outlets such as the N.Y. Times, TIMES Magazine, N.B.C. 's Today Show, and recognized by Students for Sensible Drug Policy as one of their '40 under 40' outstanding BIPOC leaders in Drug Policy. "

Instagram: @therealdruglady

Sandor Iron Rope

Sandor Iron Rope is an Oglala Lakota ceremonial leader from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Born in 1970 to Abel Thomas Iron Rope Sr. and Vera Kills Crow Indian Iron Rope, his Lakota lineage extends back to Chief Lone Bear, Chief High Hawk, and Chief Iron Nation among the Tetonwan Lakota Oyate (Great Sioux Nation). 

Sandor graduated from Minatare High School in Minatare, Nebraska, in 1989. After high school, he sought to continue the martial tradition of his family and tribe by enlisting in the Marine Corps. While a congenital hearing issue medically disqualified him from service, his respect for akichita (warriors or veterans) informs his military outreach work.

His recovery from post-traumatic stress and gun violence in 2018 using traditional methods drove him to seek ways to bring healing beyond his community and support veterans struggling with their own mental and physical health challenges.

Most notably, this brought him aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for a 2022 blessing ceremony performed in honor of a deploying unit with the call sign "Lakota". It was the first recorded instance in American history of a Native American spiritual leader working with an active-duty Marine unit. 

Iron Rope worked in construction until a workplace injury led him to pursue a career in community development, working in the Rapid City School District as a cultural guidance counselor for at-risk youth through the U.S. Department of Education's Johnson-O'Malley (J.O.M.) program for indigenous children.

He then pursued higher education, earning an associate's degree in American Indian Studies at Oglala Lakota College and then attending Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. He graduated with a double major in American Indian History and Human Services in 2007.

From 2009 to 2017, he was employed with the Indian Health Service under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He served as a strength coach for the Diabetes Program, certified by the Native American Fitness Council. He worked as a case manager for members of the Oglala Lakota tribe struggling with diabetes.

Iron Rope continues contributing his time and energy to holistic wellness and preserving Lakota culture. In 2006 he served as a delegate for the state of South Dakota to the Native American Church of North America (N.A.C.N.A.), became Vice President of that organization from 2009-2012, and then President from 2012-2017.

He currently serves as the Chairman of the Native American Church of South Dakota (N.A.C.S.D.). The Native American Church of South Dakota is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2022. Iron Rope continues to support his community as a spiritual intercessor and N.A.C. clergyman, working with indigenous groups throughout North America.

In 2017, Iron Rope became a founding member of the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative (I.P.C.I.), a nonprofit organization focused on empowering indigenous communities to connect with, preserve, and conserve their sacred peyote medicine. He frequently travels and serves as a spokesperson for peyote conservation and indigenous sovereignty.

Iron Rope is a survivor of intergenerational trauma and gun violence who credits his recovery and successful treatment of post-traumatic stress (P.T.S.) to his traditional Lakota spiritual practices, the peyote ways of the Native American Church and the gym. He is the co-founder and executive director of Center of the Heart, a South Dakota nonprofit corporation and healing center based in the sacred and unceded Paha Sapa (Black Hills) of South Dakota.

He has been married to Geraldine Iron Rope, a Navajo woman, for over 12 years and has 9 children and 9 grandchildren.

Instagram: @wikanmaza

Seth Warner

Seth has been organizing and educating in mycology and psychedelics for the past five years. He founded the mycelial mass mushroom meetup in 2017, co-founded the current iteration of Psychedelic Society S.F. in 2019, helped the movement to decriminalize entheogens in Oakland in 2019 and founded MycoRising in 2019 as well.

His primary passion is teaching mushroom cultivation and microdosing. He’s been lucky enough to teach the basics to thousands of people.

Instagram: @myco.rising

Shane Norte

Shane Norte, founder and Leader of the Church of The People for Creator and Mother Earth, which specializes in a traditional ceremony and natural setting for Earth Based Sacraments. Shane is a Decriminalize Nature National Board member, enrolled in the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and has been working in Native Movement to help defend sacred lands from being destroyed by corporations.

He’s worked with Earth Based sacraments for nine years. He and his colleagues help Veterans, Professional athletes, Natives, and anyone else who shows up. They work with high doses in natural settings.

 SheGrowsFungi

Self-taught mycologist & Business owner @ shegrowsfungi Famous genetic work with hillbilly and thrasher. The first company to offer climate-specific substrate. Sales manager at poogodcolorado. 110 & 200 qt tub specialist

Shelby Hartman

Shelby Hartman is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of DoubleBlind. Her work has appeared in VICE, Quartz, the Huffington Post, and Rolling Stone, among others. Shelby worked in broadcast news production for C.B.S. News, covering presidential elections, protests, natural disasters, and other breaking news.

Instagram: @doubleblindmag

P.O.C. Psychedelic Society (Soma Phoenix & Mary Sanders)

Soma Phoenix is a psychedelic researcher and integration consultant who works with individuals seeking healing from trauma and spiritual transformation. As an attorney, Soma advocates for drug policy reform and supports the idea of cognitive liberty, or freedom to explore consciousness on our terms.

Soma provides private integration support services and is the founder of www.psillygirls.com, a site devoted to community building, spiritual support, and discourse around psychedelic experiences and insights.

A Chicago native, Soma spent years in the underworld of pharmaceutical litigation as a litigation support attorney, dredging through the sorrow and heartache of people with illnesses and horrific injuries.

She went on a quest for ancient information that might help alleviate this misery, exploring topics from herbalism to hoodoo and occultism.

 "When people are focused on survival in the form of worrying about making ends meet, basic safety concerns, surviving trauma, and the plethora of issues people of color face, there is less motivation to explore the concept of self-realization—a topic seemingly observed for rich white folks."

Soma seeks to destigmatize sacred psychedelic medicine in communities of color, who are often most vulnerable to P.T.S.D. from the effects of trauma. Soma provides education about the benefits and history of psychedelics to groups lacking access to these valuable resources.

As part of the People of Color Psychedelic Society, Soma is helping to reclaim and highlight the legacy of sacred mushrooms and their use by healers in Huautla de Jimenez, Mexico.

Featured in High Times magazine, the group comprised of people of color, women, and queer folk provides support space for sexual assault survivors; recognizes the contribution of underrepresented groups' work in psychedelic thought, research and activism; and offers educational resources about herbology, plant medicine and healing trauma through psychedelic exploration.

Mary Sanders is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with extensive history addressing trauma in communities of color and marginalized populations. She currently provides community mental health services for formerly unhoused Veterans at Veteran Affairs in San Francisco, CA and recently opened a private practice called EMPATH Center in Oakland, CA serving Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). Mary has future plans to integrate psychedelic-assisted therapy and community integration in her private practice. She graduated from the 2019 Certificate of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research at California Institute of Integral Studies, certified in Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is currently enrolled in the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute. Mary is involved in development of the national organization, People of Color Psychedelic Collective which involves increasing content, awareness, and access to psychedelic medicine practices that represent BIPOC voices

Instagram: @pocpsychedeliccollective

Sutton King

Sutton King, M.P.H., Afro-Indigenous, descendent of the Menominee and Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, is a graduate of N.Y.U. School of Global Public Health. She is an internationally recognized Indigenous rights activist, published researcher and social entrepreneur dedicated to developing and scaling innovative solutions to improve Indigenous health equity across sectors.

Her focus centers on access and benefit sharing, culturally appropriate and equitable methodologies within technology, healthcare and business.

Instagram: @sutton.king

Tony' Shroomy Walkabouts' Alvarez 

Tony Alvarez of Shroomy Walkabouts has been an avid forager of plant medicine for 20 + years now. He has turned his passions into a safe space for the community to heal and find themselves while simultaneously connecting with other like-minded people.

He's creating a ripple effect of self-knowledge, self-healing, and oneness with everything in our world. Shroomy walkabouts' mission is to foster a lifestyle of education on local fungi and plants that are edible and medicinal while holding space for individual and group healing, "arriving into each moment ceremoniously".

Tony's work inspires free spirits and free thinkers to go out in the world, challenge societal norms, and spread love and light wherever they go. His goal is to help them foster and develop their groups and create a ripple effect of change in the world. 

Instagram: @shroomywalkabout

The Ancestor Project (Charlotte James & Undrea Wright)

Charlotte James: Charlotte has been a harm reductionist and psychedelic explorer for over 10 years. Still, her path through this work has undoubtedly been more complex. After leaving harm reduction years ago because of rapid burnout, she is returning to this work with a new energy - thanks to the power of healing with Sacred Earth Medicines.

Charlotte is fascinated by communication, loves language, and is captivated by the power of human connection. She has been in fearless pursuit of her passions since she can remember, always giving herself new experiences and opportunities to expand her mind. Charlotte works to create a world in which everyone can live in the fearless pursuit of their radical transformation.

She uses her digital strategist, coach, and space-holder skills to build and engage a community that pursues equitable liberation.

Undrea Wright: Undrea has been working to heal himself with sacred medicines for over 15 years. He is a cannabis entrepreneur that was instrumental in the decriminalization and medical bill passed in Maryland. He focuses on equity and inclusion in all healing work and communities.

Dre practices in the Traditional Amazonian ways, informed by the South American Shipibo-Conibo and Quechua-Lamista lineages, having trained with various global indigenous masters. He served as a Volunteer Supervisor for the Fireside Project. In June of 2022, he completed his MAPS MDMA psychedelic-assisted Therapy Program and is currently enrolled in his PhD program for transpersonal psychology.

He focuses on ancient teachings as a means to achieve spiritual enlightenment. At the core of the teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution. An essential aspect of this awakening is transcending our ego-based state of consciousness. It is a prerequisite not only for personal happiness but also for ending a violent conflict that is endemic on our planet.

Instagram: @theancestorproject

Travis Tyler Fluck

Travis Tyler Fluck is a self-described "Autognostic Mycologist" who was instrumental in the passing of Denver's successful campaign to decriminalize mushrooms for personal use, including home cultivation. Since the campaign, Travis has never left the trenches.

He has worked passionately as an educator, facilitator, community organizer, activist, artist, Death Doula and inner space explorer with 27 years of hyperspace flight time logged.

Instagram: @view_askew

William Padilla-Brown

William received his Permaculture Design Certificate through Susquehanna Permaculture & N.G.O.Z.I. in Harrisburg, PA, in 2014 and has since led over 100 classes and workshops in person and online, covering a vast array of topics spanning permaculture, including mycology, foraging, medicine making, phycology, molecular biology, additive manufacturing, working with insects, gardening, urban farming, and animal husbandry.

William has also completed The Wild Land Immersion with Wilson Alvarez in Lancaster, PA, Mushroom Cultivation & MycoRemediation courses with Fungi for the People in Eugene, OR, the Regenerative Urban Sustainability Training at the Radix Center in Albany, NY with Scott Kellog, Stacy Pettigrew, and Heather Flores, The Nanopore Introduction Workshop at the New York Genomics Center, and the Algal Culturing Techniques Course at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in BoothBay, ME.

I.G.: @mycosymbiote

Willy Myco

Mycologist, organic chemist, influencer, YouTube creator and psychedelic activist. Willy is the founder of the psychedelic group & movement Trip Team Family and one of the more notable figures in the psychedelic community.

Being the personality of the YouTube channel Willy's World, Willy specializes in Creating videos educating viewers on the psychedelic science, culture, cultivation or synthesis of psychedelics in a simple step-by-step video. 

I.G.: @TTF_WILLY

YouTube: YouTube.com/c/Willysworld

Yarelix Estrada

Yarelix Estrada is a first-generation Central American harm reduction researcher, community outreach worker for overdose prevention and psychedelic community organizer. She currently works as a City Research Scientist with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, leading the first high-technology drug-checking research pilot in New York.

She is also the director of the New York City Psychedelic Society, a co-founder of the psychedelic abolitionist collective Psychedelic Rematriation, is on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Recovery Alliance, on the Board of Directors for the Source Research Foundation, on the Advisory Board of the psychedelic media group Psymposia and is an organizer with the Urban Survivors Union and the Alliance for Collaborative Drug Checking.

Yarelix Estrada received her Master of Science in Public Health in Health Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

@yarelix15

Zeus Tipado

Zeus Tipado is a neuroscientist based out of Los Angeles, California. He's the founder of Stonedgamer and Middleeasy and co-producer/host of Double Blinds 'How to Use Psychedelics' course.

His published work has appeared in High Times Magazine, MERRY JANE, and Psychedelics Today. He received his Mphil from the University of South Wales. He will start his PhD in Neuroscience with a focus on psychedelics in 2022.

@zeustipado