Our Speakers in 2023 included:
Speakers for 2025 TBA
Michael Pollan
American Author, Journalist and creator of Netflix series - “How to Change Your Mind, the history of Psychedelics.”
Pollan leads the public education program of the US Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, to help to foster a well-informed, nuanced understanding of psychedelics.
Pollan wrote How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, a book about the history and future of psychedelic drugs. The book became a No. 1 New York Times best-seller and has now been turned into a four-part Netflix series. Pollan’s essays have appeared in many anthologies, including Best American Essays and Best American Science Writing.
Dr. Rick Doblin
Director & Founder of MAPS - the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies since 1986.
Could psychedelics help us heal from trauma and mental illnesses? Researcher Rick Doblin has spent the past three decades investigating this question.
Doblin graduated with his Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School. He founded the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in 1986 the leading organization in psychedelic healing.
MAPS offers training for medical professionals in MDMA-assisted therapy in a clinical setting. MAPS got a breakthrough therapy status with the FDA which helped them complete their Phase III research. MAPS also has an investigator Initiative Trials for researchers that want to do their own study.
Dr. Danielle Schlosser
Senior Vice President of Clinical Innovation at COMPASS Pathways.
Dr. Danielle Schlosser is the Senior Vice President of Clinical Innovation at COMPASS Pathways, a mental health company dedicated to accelerating access to evidence-based innovation in mental health. COMPASS’ first program is focusing on research activities to support regulatory approval of COMP360 psilocybin therapy for people with treatment-resistant depression.
At COMPASS, Dr. Schlosser leads the function responsible for developing the clinical care model, conducting therapy optimization research, and therapist training. Prior to COMPASS, Dr. Schlosser leads the Behavioral Health Portfolio at Verily, a sister company to Google. Earlier in her career, Dr. Schlosser was in academia and continues to be on the faculty at the University of California, San Francisco. She serves as Board Chair of OneFifteen, Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Global Futures Council on Mental Health and Technology, and remains a faculty mentor for several fellowship programs at UCSF.
Dr. Ben Sessa
Chief Medical Officer at AWAKN Life Sciences
For over 15 years Dr. Ben Sessa has been at the forefront of psychedelic research in the UK through his affiliations with Imperial College London. For 30 years he has worked as a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with young people and with adult patients in the field of addictions and trauma-related psychiatry. Ben has taken part in research projects at Bristol University, Cardiff University, and Imperial College London with LSD, psilocybin, DMT, ketamine, and MDMA - receiving and/or administering all of these compounds in legal research settings.
One of the first doctors to develop the field of contemporary psychedelic research in the UK, he is now the Head of Psychedelic Medicine at Awakn Life Sciences, a company opening twenty high street psychedelic medical clinics throughout Europe, providing psychedelic psychotherapy – initially with ketamine, then with MDMA and psilocybin - for a wide range of psychiatric indications. Ben is an approved and registered MDMA, ketamine and psilocybin therapist. He has led research into MDMA-assisted therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder and is published widely in the academic and medical press.
Dr. Julie Holland
Psychiatrist, Author, Medical Advisor
Dr. Julie Holland is a psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist, and author of the NYT bestsellers Moody Bitches and Weekends at Bellevue. She is the editor of two non-profit books: Ecstasy: The Complete Guide and The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis. While now a medical advisor to MAPS, she was a medical monitor for several clinical studies examining the efficacy of using MDMA-assisted psychotherapy or cannabis in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Her newest book is Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection, From Soul to Psychedelics.
Dr. Will Siu
M.D. Psychiatrist in Los Angeles training psychiatrists/psychologists in the use of Psychedelics.
Will completed medical training at UCLA and a doctorate in immunology at the University of Oxford. He completed his psychiatric training at Harvard Medical School, where he was on faculty for six years; his interest in psychedelics as healing tools began there in 2012. Will was an attending psychiatrist at McLean and Bellevue Hospitals' inpatient addictions treatment departments for 3 years.
He has trained with MAPS in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and has been practicing with ketamine since 2017. His work as a public educator has been featured in outlets including The goop Lab on Netflix, HBO, and The Wall Street Journal. Will is a co-principal investigator on a pilot research study exploring MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of fibromyalgia. He maintains a clinical office in Los Angeles for patient care, trains psychiatrists/psychologists in the use of psychedelics, and is an advisor to a number of companies in the wellness space.
Dr. Sergio Pérez Rosal
CEO & Medical Director at OVID Clinics & Advisor at the MIND Foundation
Sergio Perez works as a Medical Director at OVID Clinics and as an advisor at the MIND Foundation.
He is a certified Beyond Experience Facilitator and Neuromeditation Instructor. Sergio has broad experience giving practical workshops on emergency management, applied sonography, and basic and advanced life support for clinicians and medical students.
In the emerging field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, he thinks it is necessary to standardize procedures and educate professionals and the general public in a scientific and secular way to create a safe environment for therapy and human development.
Dr. Benjamin Rein
Works on MDMA studies at the lab of Dr. Robert Malenka at Stanford Univerity.
Ben Rein, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral fellow working in the lab of Dr. Robert Malenka at Stanford University studying how MDMA affects social behavior.
Along with educating the general public on the ongoing psychedelic research through various social media channels with over 700k followers, he is also the president of the Aspiring Scientists Coalition.
Dr. Sherry Walling
Author of Touching of Two Worlds - MDMA trained Psychologist.
Sherry is a Clinical Psychologist and did her Doctoral internship at the Yale Department of Psychiatry in Clinical & Community Psychology. She finished the MDMA Therapy Training Program at MAPS, a 100-hour program of MDMA-assisted therapy, Clinical knowledge, therapeutic setting, and safety.
Sherry hosts the podcast Zenfounder on psychedelic consciousness where she has various guests discussing everything from Ending Opioid Addiction with Ibogaine and healing desire with MDMA-assisted therapy.
Dr. Eric Vermetten
Professor Medical-Biological and Psychiatric Aspects of Psychotrauma and Author of Behavioral Neurobiology of PTSD.
Professor at Leiden University Medical Center (Eric Vermetten’s lab in the Department of Psychiatry), and Arq Psychotrauma Research Group, Diemen. Coordination and supervision of research on the biological, psychological, and societal impact of stress and trauma.
Vermetten is the author of Behavioral Neurobiology of PTSD that focuses on the behavioral neuroscience that supports our understanding of the neurobiology of trauma risk and response.
Dr. David Erritzoe
Psychiatrist, London Imperial College - Centre for Psychedelic Research
David conducts psychopharmacological research, using brain-imaging techniques such as PET and MRI. Currently, he runs lab-based multi-modal brain imaging studies [often using pharmacological challenges] focusing on serotonin/dopamine/opiate neurotransmission as well as larger-scale prospective, naturalistic studies with online assessments and/or field-based data collection. Specifically, in the Centre for Psychedelic Research, studies are undertaken together with Prof Nutt and Dr Carhart-Harris, investigating brain mechanisms and therapeutic potential of MDMA, ketamine and classic psychedelics.
Kelsey Ramsden
Former founder and director of MINDCURE develops psychedelic research.
Ramsden is ranked among the top 200 women entrepreneurs globally. Former CEO of MINDCURE, where she was leading research teams developing psychedelic treatment protocols and synthesizing compounds for commercial use in clinical studies that show therapeutic potential.
Kelsey’s passion for funding and helping scientific research into psychedelics is unmatched.
Dr. Bia Labate, PhD
Anthropologist & Executive Director at the Chacruna Institute
(Bia Labate) is a queer Brazilian anthropologist based in San Francisco. She has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. Her main areas of interest are the study of plant medicines, drug policy, shamanism, ritual, religion, and social justice. She is Executive Director of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines and serves as Public Education and Culture Specialist at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). She is also Visiting Scholar at Naropa University’s Center for Psychedelic Studies. Additionally, she is Diversity and Inclusion Chair at Veterans of War and Advisor at the Synthesis Institute. Dr. Labate is a co-founder of the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP) in Brazil and editor of its site. She is author, co-author, and co-editor of twenty-five books, two special-edition journals, and several peer-reviewed articles (https://bialabate.net).
Clancy Cavnar, PsyD
Clinical Psychologist & Co-Founder of Chacruna Institue for Psychedelic Plant Medicines
Clancy Cavnar has a doctorate in clinical psychology (Psy.D.) from John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, CA. She currently works in private practice in San Francisco, and is Co-Founder and a member of the Board of Directors of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. She is also a research associate of the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP). She combines an eclectic array of interests and activities as clinical psychologist, artist, and researcher. She has a master of fine arts in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, a master’s in counseling from San Francisco State University, and she completed the Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). She is author and co-author of articles in several peer-reviewed journals and co-editor, with Beatriz Caiuby Labate, of eleven books. For more information see: http://www.drclancycavnar.com
Glauber Loures de Assis, PhD
Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies
Sociologist & Associate Director of Chacruna Latinoamérica in Brazil
Glauber Loures de Assis has a Ph.D. in sociology from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil. He is Research Associate at the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP), coordinator of the communication department of the New Age Institute and technical coordinator of ICEFLU, the largest institution of the Santo Daime religion in the world. He has developed research on Santo Daime groups from Brazil and Europe and has also studied the sociology of religion from a wider perspective. His main interests include the ayahuasca religions, New Religious Movements (NRMs), the internationalization of the Brazilian religions, and drug use in contemporary society. He is also Associate Director of Chacruna Latinoamérica in Brazil. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters, and the co-editor of the book Mujeres y Psicodélicos (Women and Psychedelics, Chacruna Institute/Lunaria, 2022).
Justin Natoli
Psychotherapist, Hakomi practitioner, Ketamine therapist, author, and retreat facilitator.
Justin Natoli, JD, LMFT (He/They) is a psychotherapist, Hakomi practitioner, Ketamine therapist, author, and retreat facilitator. In their private practice in Los Angeles, Justin specializes in Depth and somatic psychotherapies, trauma, addiction, psychedelic integration, and working within kink, poly, and LGBTQIA+ communities. Outside of clinical work, Justin’s mission is to spread Queer, sex-positive medicine. They serve on the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines’ Women, Gender Diversity, and Sexual Minorities Working Group and are a contributing author for Chacruna’s upcoming book, “Queering Psychedelics.” Justin received a JD with honors from the UCLA School of Law and a Master’s in Depth psychology from the Pacifica Graduate Institute. They are currently working toward a Ph.D. in Psychedelic Studies from Ubiquity University along with certificates in psychedelic therapy and research from both the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and the AWE Foundation. For more information, see: http://www.justinnatoli.com
Anders Tingmand
Clinical psychologist and an integration-therapist with a background in Jungian depth-psychology and phenomenology.
He is one of the founders of the cross-disciplinary “Network for Psychedelic Therapy and Medicine” in Copenhagen, Denmark. The network consists of psychologists, researchers, M.Ds and psychotherapists and other professionals who are interested in getting psychedelic therapy implemented in Denmark and the Nordic countries.
In October 2022 he and three other therapists from the Danish network went to New York to do the MAPS training in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, as a part of an effort to bring MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and research to Denmark.
At the conference he will present a case study from an article on the use of dream-work in the preparation- and integration phase of psychedelic therapy and as a phenomenological research method. The article is co-authored by Mathias Ebbesen Jensen, who is doing a study on psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for alcohol use disorder.
Victor Cabral, LSW
Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs for Fluence Training.
Victor Cabral is a collaborative and strategic leader who is committed to making an impact on historical inequities in his community and beyond.
Victor serves as the Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs for Fluence Training, a company that provides evidence-based training in psychedelic-assisted therapy and psychedelic harm reduction and integration services (PHRI) to clinicians across the world.
Victor is a Licensed Social Worker and practicing psychotherapist in Pennsylvania with training in Internal Family Systems, psychedelic-assisted therapy, and psychedelic harm reduction and integration.
He is listed on Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s list of “40 Under 40 Outstanding BIPOC Leaders in Drug Policy in the United States” for his work in psychedelic policy and received the 2022 Emerging Social Work Leader Award from the National Association of Social Workers.