Psychedelics & Healing Initiative Members
Honorary Chair
Rick Doblin, Pdh, Founder & Executive Director, Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), United States
Rick Doblin, PhD, is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He holds a doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard, where his research focused on psychedelic and marijuana regulation. Rick has conducted landmark follow-up studies on the Good Friday and Concord Prison Experiments and was among the first certified in Holotropic Breathwork. Since founding MAPS in 1986, his mission has been to create legal pathways for the therapeutic and personal use of psychedelics. He lives in Boston with his family.
Initiative Chair
Mary-Elizabeth Gifford, EVP, Psyence, United States
Mary-Elizabeth Gifford is Executive Vice President at Psyence Group, a public biopharmaceutical company with a focus on medicinal nature-derived psilocybin. Her work is rooted at the intersection of regenerative agriculture, public health, and mental wellness. She joined Psyence in 2020 from the nonprofit Center for Mind-Body Medicine, global experts in population-wide trauma healing. She’s led the board of directors of Demeter-USA, the U.S.D.A.-authorized certifier of Biodynamic farmlands, and served on the board of The Center for Responsible Travel. A graduate of Brown University, Mary-Elizabeth had a post-graduate year studying the History of Mind-Body Medicine at Harvard. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her family and is a contributing writer at Lucid News.
Vice-Chair
Dingle Spence, MD, BSc., MBBS, DMRT, Dip. Pall Med, FRCR, Consultant in Oncology and Palliative Medicine, Jamaica
Dingle Spence, MD, FRCR, is a Jamaican Clinical Oncologist and Palliative Medicine specialist. She is Senior Medical Officer at Jamaica’s Hope Institute Hospital and an Associate Lecturer at the University of the West Indies. A cofounder of the Jamaica Cancer Care and Research Institute (JACCRI), she also serves on the board of the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care and advises the End Well Project. Dr. Spence has studied acupuncture, Reiki, homeopathy, and Shamanic Energy Medicine, and is currently training as a psychedelic guide. Her research focuses on mind-body medicine and the use of plant-based therapies, including cannabinoids and psychedelics, in palliative care.
Vice-Chair
Julia Mirer, MD, Director of Strategy, NeuroPain Health, United States
Dr. Julia Mirer is an ardent speaker, educator, strategy consultant, and coach, who epitomizes dedication to reshaping healthcare paradigms, bridging knowledge gaps, and spearheading a transformative movement toward comprehensive and integrative wellness practices.
Paul Hutson, PharmD, MS
Founding Director, UW Madison Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances, United States
Paul Hutson is a Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, and an Associate Member of the University of Wisconsin Paul P Carbone Cancer Center, the first cancer research center founded by a university in the United States. His practice site is the inpatient palliative care unit at the UW Hospital, and his didactic teaching is in clinical pharmacokinetics, oncology, and psychoactive substances. He is the Founding Director of the UW Madison Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances. He holds the Investigational New Drug exemption for psilocybin and is a co-investigator on multiple clinical studies of psychedelic drugs at the University of Wisconsin Madison health center campus. He also serves as a resource in pharmacokinetic study design and modeling for the UW Madison campus through the NIH-funded UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.
Melissa Lavasani
Founder and Executive Director, Psychedelic Medicine Coalition, Unites States
Melissa Lavasani is the Founder and Executive Director of Psychedelic Medicine Coalition (PMC), a DC-based association that advocates for psychedelics at a Federal, State, and local level. Prior to founding the PMC, Melissa was the proposer of Washington DC’s successful 2020 ballot measure Initiative 81, the Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act. Inspired by her own experience of using psychedelics to heal her severe postpartum depression, Melissa led the Decriminalize Nature DC campaign to the largest ballot initiative victory in the history of our nation’s capital. Through PMC, Melissa continues the work of implementation of Initiative 81 and DC’s new law enforcement priorities regarding psychedelics as well as advocate for laws that support access and healing with the US government. Melissa has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Macalester College, a Masters degree in Management from the University of Denver, and a Masters in Public Policy from George Mason University. Born in Washington, DC to Iranian immigrants, Melissa currently lives in Northeast DC with her husband Daniel, daughter Lola (7), son Ramsey (4), and their rescue pitbull, Gus.
Lynn Marie Morski, MD, JD
President, Psychedelic Medicine Association, United States (she/her)
Lynn Marie Morski, MD, JD is the president of the Psychedelic Medicine Association, host of the Plant Medicine Podcast, founder of Plant Medicine.org, Director of Medical Affairs for MyDelica, and the medical director for Way of Leaf.com. Dr. Morski received her medical degree from Saint Louis University School of Medicine, completed family medicine residency at Mayo Clinic, and did her sports medicine fellowship at the University of Arizona. She later received her law degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. Dr. Morski spent nine years as a physician at the Veterans Administration. After leaving the VA in 2019, she made it her mission to help educate physicians on the plant medicines and entheogens that could bring life-changing relief to their patients. In furtherance of this mission, she started the Plant Medicine Podcast and Plant Medicine.org in 2019, and she and her team founded the Psychedelic Medicine Association in 2020 to formally educate healthcare professionals on psychedelic medicines.
Louie Schwartzberg
Award-Winning Producer, Director, Cinematographer, United States
Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning filmmaker known for stunning nature documentaries, including Fantastic Fungi, narrated by Brie Larson and Forest Whitaker. The film, praised for its exploration of mushrooms as sustainable solutions for health and the planet, earned a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating and inspired the Global Fantastic Fungi Summit. Louie is also the creator of Visual Healing®, an immersive wellness experience used in medical centers like UCSD and studied in psychedelic-assisted therapy trials at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute.
Sa’ad Shah
Co-founder and Managing Partner of Noetic, Canada
Sa’ad Shah is the co-founder and managing partner of Noetic, a venture fund investing in innovative mental health solutions, with a focus on CNS therapeutics and psychedelic-based treatments. With 25 years in capital markets and alternative investments, he previously served as a managing director at The Carlyle Group. Sa’ad also co-founded Grey House Partners and sits on various corporate and nonprofit boards. A Columbia University graduate, he is passionate about documentary filmmaking, esoteric philosophy, and lives in Toronto with his two daughters.
Kathryn L. Tucker
JD, Founding Board Member & Co-Interim Executive Director, The Psychedelic Bar Association, United States
Kathryn Tucker is Co-Interim Executive Director and Founding Board Member of the Psychedelic Bar Association, and Special Counsel at Emerge Law Group, where she Co-Chairs the Psychedelic Practice Group. With a 30-year legal career focused on end-of-life rights, she has led organizations like the End of Life Liberty Project and Compassion & Choices. Tucker helped enact Oregon’s pioneering psilocybin law (Measure 109) and currently leads groundbreaking legal efforts applying Right to Try laws to psilocybin therapy. She also teaches law, medicine, and ethics at several universities.
Hanifa Nayo Washington
Co-founder and Chief of Strategy for the Fireside Project, United States (she/her/hers)
Hanifa Nayo Washington, co-founder and chief of strategy for the Fireside Project, a nonprofit that operates the first psychedelic peer support line, is a social entrepreneur, cultural producer, and healing justice practitioner with 20 years in nonprofit leadership. Hanifa, a facilitator, reiki master practitioner, and creative, works at the intersection of mindfulness, place making, and social justice to create organizations, gatherings, spaces, and experiences rooted in the values of beloved community.
