Mina Samuels is a writer, speaker, playwright, and performer, and in a previous incarnation, a litigation lawyer and human rights advocate; as well as an athlete and meditation practitioner, trained in Non-Violent Communication and Internal Family Systems. Mina offers workshops and one-on-one facilitations on the transformative power of the body-mind connection and how it nourishes our whole self.

Her books include, Run Like A Girl 365 Days: A Practical, Personal, Inspirational Guide for Women Athletes and Run Like a Girl: How Strong Women Make Happy Lives and she writes regularly for Medium and Fit Is A Feminist Issue.  She has also created and performed two award-winning solo shows and an ensemble play.

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Ladybird Morgan RN, MSW, RCST practitioner, has helped guide medical practitioners, families, caregivers, programs, and institutions around the world (including with Doctors Without Borders and in California Prisons) on how to be present to difficult experiences by remembering, embodying, and responding from the deepest place of truth.

Her work is informed by a lifetime commitment to meditation, sacred practices, and personal inquiry. Currently a private palliative care consultant with Mettlehealth and a co-facilitator for Commonweal’s Cancer Care Help Program and Healing Circles, she is also a co-investigator/study therapist with a University of Washington study of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy and the Co-Founder/Program Director of The Humane Prison Hospice Project.

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Christopher Luard has been studying and practicing various forms of meditation for over thirty-five years. He has received formal training in Korean and Japanese Zen; Mahamudra and Dzogchen from the Tibetan traditions, and Vipassana from the Theravada Burmese tradition, Vedanta from the Hindu tradition. In addition to these trainings, Chris had studied extensively within more modern traditions such as Secular Dharma, Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, Nonviolent Communication, Neuroplasticity, and MBSR.

Upon witnessing the tragic events of Sept 11th, 2001 in Manhattan, Chris dedicated his life to the study and teaching of contemplative practices. He teaches from a secular voice and is committed to bringing these timeless teachings to all who wish to receive them. Chris has facilitated in centers in Portugal, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, the USA, and the U.K. and continues to live and teach in Thailand. 

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Nikolaj Knub is a philosopher and Jungian psychotherapist based in Copenhagen. Besides offering individual therapy he facilitates workshops and offers rituals with ceremonial cacao and the use of active imagination.

Currently, Nikolaj is pursuing a long-standing interest in eco-psychology and experimenting with ways in which to bring therapeutic practices out of the consulting room and into the wild.

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Dr. Lela Mosemghvdlishvili is a transformative educator working on the intersections of academia, wisdom traditions, and embodied practices. Lela has served as a board member of the Amsterdam Psychedelic Research Association (APRA) since 2017. At the University of Amsterdam, they designed and have been teaching an interdisciplinary elective project Critical Issues in Psychedelic Renessainsefor the past five years.  

A notable part of Lela's life is devoted to the ongoing study and practice of Maha and Ati Yoga, experiential dancing, and regular silent retreats for introspection. These modalities are vital sources of insight and understanding to them. Lela is also an authorized Feeding Your Demons® facilitator, and meditation teacher.

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Chara Caruthers is a skilled facilitator with decades of personal and professional practice as an educator, therapist and lifestyle medicine practitioner working with groups and individuals. Her life and work is grounded in eastern spiritual traditions, ancient and indigenous wisdom and modern science and philosophy. She holds a professional certification in psychedelics, entheogens and transpersonal psychology, is a graduate of the Center for Holding Space Foundations program at the Leadership level, and is currently completing a master of science in transpersonal psychology. 

As a Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), certified Ayurvedic practitioner and psychedelic researcher, she is passionately dedicated to building bridges between ancient lifestyle traditions and modern western medical approaches to mental health and wellbeing.  Chara believes that a loving and supportive community is the vital and often missing piece of the picture of wellbeing for so many.  She recognizes that her work in the psychedelic space is that of building and empowering community as a container for embodying our wholeness.

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Mary is a psychotherapist with over 30 years experience of working in a variety of UK healthcare settings as a clinical supervisor, group facilitator, researcher, and educator. She specializes in helping people face loss and change, illness, and death, and is particularly interested in how nature connection, mindfulness, self-compassion, and vision quest rites of passage can support journeys of personal growth, transformation, and healing.

In her spare time, she tends an old Cornish garden, which has lots of flowers and brambles. She swims in the sea all year round and loves to walk in wild places.

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Dr. Stephanie Van Hope, R.N., D.N.P., is a registered nurse, certified nurse coach, and doctor of nursing practice with experience in oncology, hospice, and health coaching. She served as a study guide for New York University’s Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety project, guiding cancer patients through psychedelic journeys with psilocybin, and offers a continuing education course for nurses entitled Nursing & Sacred Medicine: Introduction to Psychedelic Therapy.

Stephanie is a Reiki practitioner and a student of yoga, meditation, shamanic healing, astrology, plant medicine, music, dance, and the sacred traditions of many faiths. She currently resides with her husband, son, and many animals in an intentional community in the Catskills region of New York.

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Dr. Loizaga-Velder is a German-Mexican clinical psychologist with a deep connection to indigenous psychedelic healing practices spanning over three decades. She co-founded the Nierika Institute in Mexico, dedicated to preserving indigenous traditions with sacred plant medicines and research around their therapeutic applications for mental health and personal growth.

She has published several research articles and book chapters exploring the therapeutic potential of entheogens for treating mental health challenges and has presented her work as a speaker at many conferences. Anja collaborates as a learning facilitator and guest faculty in the Synthesis Psychedelic Practitioner Training program.

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Vibhu Khera is an experienced educator, meditation teacher, and transpersonal therapist. She has a deep passion for yoga, whirling, nature walks, and reading. Vibhu has received extensive training in Meta-cognitive awareness, NLP, Emotional therapy, Yogic science, and Mindfulness. Her primary focus is assisting individuals in achieving emotional coherence, reclaiming their minds, expanding their inner space, and overcoming the challenges and dramas of life.

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Dr. Allen Goodwin (Bsc (Hons), Ph.D.) has spent the last twenty years as a full-time senior University lecturer in Psychology focusing mainly on the areas of Research Methods & Statistics, Neuroscience, and Visual perception. He has received numerous prestigious university inspirational teaching awards and is a contract-published author.

Dr. Goodwin holds an animistic perspective, a result of over thirty years of Druidic and Shamanic Practice. In 2013, he discarded his academic career as an act of faith and relocated to the place of his youth devoting himself to his family and working as a professionally trained shamanic practitioner (both in core and classical techniques). 

In all his work, he aims to facilitate a greater connection for his clients to develop their sense of connection to their true self and their sense of place within their own lives.

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Natalie is committed to fostering personal growth and transformation; her journey in the human services field has spanned over a decade. This experience has deepened her understanding of trauma and its impact on individuals. As a master’s level intern in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, she has the privilege of directly counseling clients while gaining insights from the mentorship of experienced supervisors.

Natalie is deeply committed to engaging in harm reduction and providing supportive care as a volunteer on the Fireside hotline for those navigating psychedelic experiences. She also founded "Your Healing Guide," an initiative to guide individuals toward inner peace and holistic self-healing.

She has always believed that the power to heal and transform lies within us. We can unlock immeasurable potential by connecting with our breath and being attuned to our bodily sensations. She offers guided meditations tailored to diverse audiences, from individuals and groups to schools and businesses, to support this belief.

Additionally, she enjoys being a learning facilitator for The Synthesis Institutes Psychedelic Practitioner Core Training program. Natalie is a certified 200-hour yoga practitioner and is trained in the Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique. She focuses on somatic healing and ensures that her clients always find a supportive and compassionate space for exploration and growth.

A client-centered approach is at the core of her practice, ensuring that she understands and addresses each individual's unique needs and goals. She strives to create an environment of trust and respect where thoughts and feelings can be freely expressed.

She is on a continuous journey to explore and integrate various healing modalities. Embracing the philosophy that "You are your own best healer," she is dedicated to empowering each individual in their healing journey.

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Meghan Kennedy, LCSW, CPTR, 30-year private practice specializing in trauma & systemic disequilibrium, she has been an international consultant on psychosocial and culturally-sensitive treatment issues for communities under siege due to war, political unrest and natural disasters. Her understanding of the interdependent features of trauma, addictions-formation and character structure lends to working with the parallel processes seen in greater cultural disequilibrium - and requiring greater healing modalities.   International consulting experiences lead her to explore the utilization of psychedelic substances across varying cultural settings.  In 2016 Meghan was certified in Psychedelic-assisted Therapies & Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies in their inaugural run of the first accredited university program of its kind.  This lead to working in research with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies as an adherence rater for the trials on MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD.  She has taught on the topics of trauma and transpersonal healing frameworks, as well as risk mitigation and integration of non-dual states of consciousness for several years. Meghan is also working to create mainstream structures that will assure a swift and just roll-out of these treatments and the training necessary to provide them once governmental structures clear the way.Trust in the greater cosmology reached through this work is what fuels her belief in, and service to, this important healing paradigm.

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Julie Henningsen, PA-C, MPAS, is a medical healthcare provider with experience in emergency medicine, urgent care, and dermatology; and is a Synthesis-certified psychedelic practitioner. She prefers a holistic approach to patient care, acknowledging our inner healing wisdom and the potential for entheogens to facilitate authentic transformation. Having worked as an outdoor and environmental program director for several universities, Julie has an extensive background in facilitating immersive, nature-based experiences. She has been a faculty member of the National Outdoor Leadership School for over 20 years, leading wilderness emergency medicine courses around the globe. Julie is the founder of Headwaters Field Medicine, a Montana-based wilderness medicine training organization. Her passion for exploration of both the natural world, and the nature of consciousness drives her pursuit of life-long learning.

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