Founder of COOL HUNTING • Creative Director, Editor, Photographer

Topic: tba

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As the co-founder of COOL HUNTING, Josh Rubin has spent decades uncovering signals beneath the noise—ideas that resonate, illuminate and carry the pulse of what's next. Known for his discerning eye and unflinching standards, Josh approaches storytelling as both craft and communion, bridging the tangible and the ineffable.

His work—whether visual, editorial or energetic—is rooted in alignment: between beauty and function, legacy and emergence, intellect and intuition, self and collective. A Reiki master, he moves through the world attuned to patterns, symbols and resonance, always guided by the belief that excellence is a form of presence.

At COOL HUNTING Studio Josh works on product design collaborations, hosts travel experiences and consults on trends and futuring. He hosts the Design Tangents podcast alongside his husband and COOL HUNTING co-founder, Evan Orensten. And he writes about bridging the material and the spiritual, including the new series Reflect, Refract, Resonate.

LinkedIn • CoolHunting • JoshRubin.comrrresonate.com

Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry Head of Carhart-Harris Lab, University of California San Francisco

Talk: “How Psychedelics Work” short presentation, follwed by a conversation with David Coveney, Executive Editor at Design Week Magazine

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Speaking ahead of his forthcoming book, How Psychedelics Work (January 2027).

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Dr Carhart-Harris obtained a PhD in Psychopharmacology from the University of Bristol in 2009 before moving to Imperial College London. There, Prof he and colleagues completed multimodal human functional neuroimaging studies with LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and DMT, and clinical trials of psilocybin therapy for various disorders, including trials in depression, anorexia and fibromyalgia syndrome.

Dr Carhart-Harris founded the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London in April 2019 and set up the Carhart-Harris Lab at University of California San Francisco in 2023, where he moved in 2021, becoming the Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professorship in Neurology and Psychiatry at University of California.

He spoke at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in 2019, was listed among the top 31 medical scientists by The Times newspaper in 2020, TIME magazine’s ‘100 Next’ in 2021 and Vox Magazine’s ‘Future 50’ in 2023. His research program at UCSF focuses on the action of psychedelics and psychedelic-therapy.

He has published widely, including in top-tier scientific and medical journals and will soon release his first book, entitled: How Psychedelics Work. 

LinkedIn • Instagram • X • YouTube • Carhart-Harris Lab

Director and Executive Editor at Design Week

Talk: “How Psychedelics Work” in conversation with Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD

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David is the Executive Editor of Design Week, having led its relaunch and digital transformation after acquiring the title through his Liverpool-based software studio, Standfirst. With nearly forty years in the technology and design sector, David’s career has been defined by the intersection of digital innovation, ethics, and clear communication.

Beyond the design world, David is a committed advocate for a more equal and liberal society. This drive led him into the political arena, most recently as a Parliamentary Candidate for Widnes and Halewood. While he jokes about the "failed" nature of the bid, his political work is a serious extension of his belief that systems - whether governmental or digital - should serve to protect and empower individuals rather than constrain them.

It is this same lens of system design that David brings to the Psychedelics Awards. He believes that institutional inertia and outdated social dogmas have created a bottleneck in medical progress. By dismantling the regulatory friction and moralistic caution that currently surround psychedelics, David believes we can finally clear a path for transformative treatments that have been unfairly sidelined for too long.

LinkedIn • Instagram • Design Week Magazine

Founder and President of MAPS

Talk: Interview by Zoe Wilder “The Long Arc of Transformation”

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Rick Doblin, Ph.D., is the Founder and President of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master’s thesis on a survey of oncologists about smoked marijuana vs. the oral THC pill in nausea control for cancer patients.

His undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences. He also conducted a thirty-four year follow-up study to Timothy Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment.

Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. His professional goal is to help develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, primarily as prescription medicines but also for personal growth for otherwise healthy people, and eventually to become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife and puppy, with three empty rooms from his children who have all graduated college and begun their life journeys.

Learn more about Rick by listening to his Origin Story, watching opening speech from PS2023, watching his TED Talk, and watching his SSDP talk about lessons for political activism from a series of his psychedelic experiences.

LinkedIn • Instagram • MAPS

Founder of COOL HUNTING • Creative Director, Editor, Photographer

Topic: tba

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As the co-founder of COOL HUNTING, Josh Rubin has spent decades uncovering signals beneath the noise—ideas that resonate, illuminate and carry the pulse of what's next. Known for his discerning eye and unflinching standards, Josh approaches storytelling as both craft and communion, bridging the tangible and the ineffable.

His work—whether visual, editorial or energetic—is rooted in alignment: between beauty and function, legacy and emergence, intellect and intuition, self and collective. A Reiki master, he moves through the world attuned to patterns, symbols and resonance, always guided by the belief that excellence is a form of presence.

At COOL HUNTING Studio Josh works on product design collaborations, hosts travel experiences and consults on trends and futuring. He hosts the Design Tangents podcast alongside his husband and COOL HUNTING co-founder, Evan Orensten. And he writes about bridging the material and the spiritual, including the new series Reflect, Refract, Resonate.

LinkedIn • CoolHunting • JoshRubin.comrrresonate.com

Founder Zoe Wilder Public Relations & Liquid Culture Records

Talk: Interview with Rick Doblin, PhD “The Long Arc of Transformation”

Named “Cannabis Empressaria” by Forbes, “35 Most Influential Women in Cannabis” by Entrepreneur Magazine and recipient of the 2024 Green Market Report Award for Public Relations, Zoe Wilder is a public relations professional specializing in lifestyle, culture and wellness. 

For over 20 years, Zoe has worked with hundreds of clients across a variety of industries to develop and execute inventive promotional content and campaigns that capture the attention of tastemakers and influencers from around the globe. Zoe holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the College of William & Mary and a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. 

Her team comprises over 50 years of forward thinking and purpose driven public relations expertise working with A-list celebrities, New York Times bestsellers, award winning film, television, radio, music, and consumer products, critically acclaimed podcasts, top brands and business leaders, and publishing oversight for several of the world’s leading peer-reviewed medical journals. 

A founding member of DoubleBlind Magazine, a media company covering the expansion of psychedelics around the globe, she also launched Liquid Culture, a revolutionary record label and artist collective redefining the intersection of music, visual art, and cultural innovation. Beyond that, she’s an ambassador for the Last Prisoner Project and a strategic advisor at Psychedelics Design; and a member of the Association For Electronic Music.

LinkedIn • Instagram • Zoe Wilder Public Relations • Liquid Culture Records

Founder and President of MAPS

Talk: Interview by Zoe Wilder “The Long Arc of Transformation”

Rick Doblin, Ph.D., is the Founder and President of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he wrote his dissertation on the regulation of the medical uses of psychedelics and marijuana and his Master’s thesis on a survey of oncologists about smoked marijuana vs. the oral THC pill in nausea control for cancer patients.

His undergraduate thesis at New College of Florida was a 25-year follow-up to the classic Good Friday Experiment, which evaluated the potential of psychedelic drugs to catalyze religious experiences. He also conducted a thirty-four year follow-up study to Timothy Leary’s Concord Prison Experiment.

Rick studied with Dr. Stanislav Grof and was among the first to be certified as a Holotropic Breathwork practitioner. His professional goal is to help develop legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics and marijuana, primarily as prescription medicines but also for personal growth for otherwise healthy people, and eventually to become a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. He founded MAPS in 1986, and currently resides in Boston with his wife and puppy, with three empty rooms from his children who have all graduated college and begun their life journeys.

Learn more about Rick by listening to his Origin Story, watching opening speech from PS2023, watching his TED Talk, and watching his SSDP talk about lessons for political activism from a series of his psychedelic experiences.

LinkedIn • Instagram • MAPS

Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry Head of Carhart-Harris Lab, University of California San Francisco

Talk: “How Psychedelics Work” short presentation, follwed by a conversation with David Coveney, Executive Editor at Design Week Magazine

Speaking ahead of his forthcoming book, How Psychedelics Work (January 2027).

Dr Carhart-Harris obtained a PhD in Psychopharmacology from the University of Bristol in 2009 before moving to Imperial College London. There, Prof he and colleagues completed multimodal human functional neuroimaging studies with LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and DMT, and clinical trials of psilocybin therapy for various disorders, including trials in depression, anorexia and fibromyalgia syndrome.

Dr Carhart-Harris founded the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London in April 2019 and set up the Carhart-Harris Lab at University of California San Francisco in 2023, where he moved in 2021, becoming the Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professorship in Neurology and Psychiatry at University of California.

He spoke at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in 2019, was listed among the top 31 medical scientists by The Times newspaper in 2020, TIME magazine’s ‘100 Next’ in 2021 and Vox Magazine’s ‘Future 50’ in 2023. His research program at UCSF focuses on the action of psychedelics and psychedelic-therapy.

He has published widely, including in top-tier scientific and medical journals and will soon release his first book, entitled: How Psychedelics Work. 

LinkedIn • Instagram • X • YouTube • Carhart-Harris Lab

Executive Editor at Design Week

Talk: “How Psychedelics Work” in conversation with Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD

David is the Executive Editor of Design Week, having led its relaunch and digital transformation after acquiring the title through his Liverpool-based software studio, Standfirst. With nearly forty years in the technology and design sector, David’s career has been defined by the intersection of digital innovation, ethics, and clear communication.

Beyond the design world, David is a committed advocate for a more equal and liberal society. This drive led him into the political arena, most recently as a Parliamentary Candidate for Widnes and Halewood. While he jokes about the "failed" nature of the bid, his political work is a serious extension of his belief that systems - whether governmental or digital - should serve to protect and empower individuals rather than constrain them.

It is this same lens of system design that David brings to the Psychedelics Awards. He believes that institutional inertia and outdated social dogmas have created a bottleneck in medical progress. By dismantling the regulatory friction and moralistic caution that currently surround psychedelics, David believes we can finally clear a path for transformative treatments that have been unfairly sidelined for too long.

LinkedIn • Instagram • Design Week Magazine

Artist, Filmmaker, and Co-founder Global Psychedelic Society

Talk: Sphinx Gate: Designing a Rite of Passage for Thousands of Strangers at Burning Man

Mareesa Stertz is an artist, filmmaker, and founder addressing a curious collective blind spot: we’ve built systems to support nearly every part of human life, yet the basic skills for navigating our inner lives remain largely specialized, siloed, or learned only when something goes wrong. Her work asks a simple question: what might change if we made inner work more accessible, communal, and even fun?

Through storytelling, ritual, and immersive experiences, Mareesa helps people navigate difficult experiences, understand the stories shaping their lives, and begin to tell new ones. She has developed and taught storytelling courses exploring story as a tool for self-understanding and transformation. She is also developing a framework she calls “Inner Hygiene”: making the regular practice of tending to our inner lives part of everyday life.

Mareesa is the founding artist of Sphinx Gate, a collaborative Burning Man Honoraria project that brings these ideas into a shared, playful, and participatory setting.

She co-founded the Global Psychedelic Society, a worldwide network supporting hundreds of local psychedelic communities, and Lucid News, where she created Adventures of the Psyche, a storytelling series about psychedelic growth and transformation. She is also the creator and host of The Healing Powers of Psychedelics, a documentary series for Gaia TV.

TheSphinxGate.com • ConfessionsofaPsychonaut.com • GlobalPsychedelic.org • TheSeeingMachine.com

Founder, Brand Strategist, Artist, and Advisor

Talk: Sphinx Gate: Designing a Rite of Passage for Thousands of Strangers at Burning Man

Jaime Derringer is a founder, brand strategist, artist, and advisor working across design, technology, creativity, and emerging science. She founded global design media brand Design Milk in 2006, growing it to more than 9 million social followers before its acquisition in 2019, and is currently Cofounder and Head of Brand at generative design platform TRAME (acquired by Art Blocks in 2025).

Earlier in her career, Jaime spent a decade working across medical education, pharmaceutical communications, editorial, and agency environments, including writing and developing physician-facing content in areas such as neuropsychopharmacology and pain management. She is currently pursuing an MSc in Psychedelics: Mind, Medicine and Culture at the University of Exeter, with interests spanning psychedelics, consciousness, creativity, technology, and the neuroscience of hormonal transitions.

Her work explores how design and emerging technologies can shape the way we research, communicate, and engage with altered states and new models of mind.

Website • Instagram

Co-Founder & CEO, Five Discovery,
Scientific Director, The Center for MINDS

Talk: Newest Research on Psychedelics and Creativity

Dr. Manesh Girn is a neuroscientist working at the intersection of psychedelic science, neural circuit biology and translational drug development. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco with Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, investigating how psychedelic compounds affect human brain function and mediate lasting therapeutic change.

He is Co-Founder and CEO of Five Discovery, a regenerative neurology biotechnology company developing non-hallucinogenic neuroplastogens inspired by 5-MeO-DMT — translating the plasticity biology underlying psychedelic science into therapeutics for neurodegenerative disease and brain injury. He is also Lead Scientific Advisor at the Center for MINDS, where he advises research into how psychedelics and related modalities can be used for insight, creativity and innovation.

He has authored over thirty peer-reviewed publications across psychedelic science and cognitive neuroscience, including in Nature Medicine, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Brain, and Trends in Cognitive Sciences. He also runs The Psychedelic Scientist on Instagram and YouTube, where he shares the latest developments in psychedelic science in a layperson-friendly way.

LinkedIn • Carhart-Harris Lab • Website

Co-Director, UCL Centre for Consciousness Research

Talk: The Architecture of Ritual

Christopher Timmermann, PhD, is a Chilean neuroscientist based in London, working at the intersection of neuroscience, psychiatry, phenomenology, and the ethics of psychedelics.

He pioneered the first investigations into how short-acting psychedelics affect the brain and mind, conducting the first neuroimaging studies of DMT — the primary psychoactive compound in ayahuasca — in healthy volunteers. He obtained his PhD in 2020 working with Robin Carhart-Harris and David Nutt, and led the DMT Research Group at Imperial College London's Centre for Psychedelic Research from 2020 to 2024.

He is currently co-director of the UCL Centre for Consciousness Research and founder and director of the ECOH Foundation for the Study of Human Consciousness. His research asks how psychedelics act on the brain and mind, combining neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI and M/EEG with experience-based measures; what non-ordinary states — psychedelic and contemplative alike — can teach us about human consciousness; and how psychedelics and meditation affect mental health and wellbeing.

His work has been published in leading scientific journals and covered by the BBC, CBC, Wired, The Times, and New Scientist. A full list of publications is available on Google Scholar.

Instagram • Google Scholar • LinkedIn

Medical Doctor

Talk: A Practical Introduction to Functional Medicine

Dr. Joyce Braverman was born and raised in Mexico. After completing her medical degree at Anáhuac University, she continued her studies in the United States and Israel. She worked as an assistant in pediatric surgical oncology, as a consultant for strategic alliances in secondary prevention of childhood cancer, and as the director of medical research at "Med Intelligence," an Israel-based startup focused on personalized medicine research.

Throughout her career, she discovered the power of integrative medicine and the potential of medicinal plants in the healing process of terminally ill patients. She became certified in mind-body medicine and Ayurvedic yoga massage, experiences that inspired her to adopt a more holistic approach to healing. This path led her to continue her studies at CIIS (California Institute of Integral Studies) in Psychedelic Therapies and Research, deepening her understanding of the Earth's chemistry.

Her journey continues as she strives to integrate her passion for the use of psychedelics in the medical field as a means to reconfigure and inspire others in their healing process and reduce stress responses. She is currently studying functional medicine, and one of her main interests is psychoneuroimmunology.

LinkedIn • Website

Founder, Triple Bottom Why communications consultancy and PSYCA (Psychedelics for Climate Action)

Ethics Committee and Review Board

Marissa Feinberg is the founder of Psychedelics for Climate Action (PSYCA), an organization dedicated to raising and expanding consciousness to discover pathways forward. Previously, Feinberg contributed to the co-working and environmental movements by co-founding Green Spaces NY for social entrepreneurs, which was acquired and became part of the global Impact Hub network.

Feinberg launched Triple Bottom Why, a communications consultancy for values-aligned organizations, leading her to work with psychedelics for mental health, and inspiring her to help bridge these ecosystems. Through this work, Feinberg leads brand and PR strategy for companies at the forefront of emerging therapies, from ketamine to psilocybin and ibogaine.

LinkedIn • Instagram • PSYCA • TBW

Founder of Aether Apothecary & Founder of Lost Muti

Talk: tbc

Cullen Clark is the Founder & CEO of Aether Apothecary and the creative force behind Lost Muti, where he blends ethnomycological insight, ritual design, and cultural storytelling to reimagine the relationship between fungi, wellness and living systems.

With a deep fascination for nature’s intelligence, Cullen leads cross-disciplinary initiatives at the intersection of mycology, design and experiential care, enabling brands and spaces that evoke connection, transformation and meaning.

Driven by a commitment to regenerative practices and visionary design, he is known for guiding emerging projects that pay homage to ancestral knowledge while engaging the future of psychedelic-adjacent culture.

LinkedIn • Aether Apothecary • Lost Muti

Doctor of Public Health candidate at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health and Program Coordinator at the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics

Marlena Robbins (Diné) is a Doctor of Public Health candidate at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health and Program Coordinator at the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Her research examines multigenerational perspectives on psilocybin use among urban Native communities, focusing on how cultural context, Indigenous knowledge systems, and ceremonial frameworks shape the conditions under which healing and consciousness expansion occur.

She is the lead architect of the Collective Continuance: Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship, an initiative that supports early-career researchers working at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge systems and psychedelic science, designed to center Indigenous sovereignty, ethical accountability, and data governance within the field. She serves on the Burroughs Wellcome Fund As1 Next Generation Advisory Council, a competitively selected cohort advancing consciousness research across neuroscience, medicine, ecology, Indigenous and cross-cultural studies, and the arts.

Marlena holds a Master of Science in American Indian Studies with a concentration in Indigenous Rights and Social Justice from Arizona State University. She has contributed to federal policy through advisory roles with SAMHSA and the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, and has published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology and Social Science & Medicine, among other outlets.

LinkedIn • University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health • Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics

Founder of Sporesight

Talk: If Fungi Was Your Futurist

Jess Jorgensen is the Founder of Sporesight - a regenerative design consultancy and Social Enterprise working at the intersection of fungi, nature, culture and futures.

A foresight strategist with two decades leading global insight programmes, Jess has helped 100+ organisations - from global brands to grassroots initiatives - to embed cultural consciousness into strategic innovation. She now advises leaders on shaping regenerative futures by tuning into nature's intelligence, underpinned by an ongoing world research tour exploring fungi x futures.

She speaks internationally on 'how to think like fungi', and serves as Board Vice Chair for refugee-led nonprofit HODARI Foundation.

LinkedIn • Sporesight

Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Psychedelic Research and Neuropsychopharmacology Imperial College London

Talk: Designed to Hook: Tech Addiction, Healing and the Human Mind

Dr Rayyan Zafar is a Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Psychedelic Research and the Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, where he leads research into the neuroscience of psychedelics, addiction and mental-health transformation.

With a foundation in neuropsychopharmacology and a strong commitment to bridging rigorous science and therapeutic potential, Dr Zafar has presented at major conferences and published on topics such as neuroplasticity, harm-reduction and psychedelic interventions.

He brings together academic insight and real-world relevance, exploring how psychedelic-assisted approaches may reshape treatment for addiction and promote deeper healing.

LinkedIn • Centre for Psychedelic Research Imperial College London

Founder & Executive Director, Fireside Project

Joshua White (he/him) is the Founder and Executive Director of Fireside Project, a nonprofit devoted to providing accessible, culturally attuned psychedelic support and training at scale. Fireside Project operates the Psychedelic Support Line, a telephonic helpline specifically for people navigating psychedelic experiences, and the Fireside-Certified Psychedelic Coaching Program, which provides scheduled, long-term support by video to people preparing for and integrating psychedelic experiences, and Lucy, an emotionally intelligence voice-to-voice chatbot devoted to training psychedelic practitioners. 

Joshua is a lawyer, psychedelic researcher, coach, and peer support advocate. Before founding Fireside Project, Joshua served as a Deputy City Attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where he focused on suing businesses exploiting vulnerable communities, serving as General Counsel to City departments, and co-teaching a nationally renowned clinic at Yale Law School.

LinkedIn • Fireside Project

Author and Entrepreneur

Talk: Designed to Hook: Tech Addiction, Healing and the Human Mind

John Biggs is an entrepreneur, consultant, writer, and maker. He spent fifteen years as an editor for Gizmodo, CrunchGear, and TechCrunch and has a deep background in hardware startups, 3D printing, and blockchain. His work has appeared in Men’s Health, Wired, and the New York Times.

He has written nine books including the best book on blogging, Bloggers Boot Camp, and a book about the most expensive timepiece ever made, Marie Antoinette’s Watch. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

He runs the Keep Going podcast, a podcast about failure. His goal is to share how even the most confident and successful people had to face adversity.

LinkedIn • Website • Podcast • Substack

Psychotherapist and MD of PsyEdu

Talk: Creativity as a Therapeutic Practice

Sam is a Creative Arts Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor and founding director of Natural Genius, providing Psychotherapists to schools and care homes.

He is also a holistic body worker, healer, core member of Bristol Contact Improvisation dance collective and author. An experienced teacher and facilitator, qualified in adult education, he promotes mind-body health through relationship, creativity and nature connection.

Sam loves to explore depth of therapeutic connection, self awareness and creativity with learners and has been doing so for over 30 years. In his spare time he loves being with his five children and wild swimming whatever the weather.

PsyEdu • Natural Genius

Multi-media Artist

Talk: Creativity as a Therapeutic Practice

Harry Pack is a multi-media artist who explores the depths of altered consciousness and heightened perception through his work. His creative practice, spanning painting, illustration, and digital media, reflects his fascination with the meeting point between psychedelic experiences and the inner workings of the human mind.

Drawing from states of transcendence, Harry crafts immersive landscapes where intricate fractals, flowing geometries, and surreal figures come together to create an experience that feels both alien and oddly familiar. These extraordinary realms are populated by ethereal beings, futuristic shapes, and animated forms that seem to exist beyond time and space.

What makes Harry’s art particularly unique is the way he incorporates the spiritual toolkit he developed in recovery into his creative process. This inner work has given him a profound connection to the healing power of art, which he channels into every piece, offering viewers an invitation to explore their own subconscious and tap into a sense of the infinite. His work encourages contemplation beyond the material world, allowing for an exploration of the mystical and eternal.

Website

Author & Psychedelic Scholar

Talk: An Introduction to Psychedelic History

Jahan Khamsehzadeh, PhD earned his doctorate in the Philosophy, Cosmology, Consciousness program at CIIS. His research was on psilocybin mushrooms and it was published at the book “The Psilocybin Connection: Psychedelics, the Transformation of Consciousness, and Evolution of the Planet—An Integral Approach” by North Atlantic Books in 2022.

He has undergone numerous trainings, including graduating from the Hakomi Somatic Psychotherapy Comprehensive program and has been a part of eight psychedelic therapy training—ranging from the roles of student to teacher. He works as a minister with the Congregation of Sacred Practices where he mentors and supervisors other ministers.

Psychedelics have been a passion of his for 25 years. He has worked with many organizations in the field, has held about 700 professional ceremonies, and been a guest on about a 100 podcasts.

Website

Founder of Mycopreneur & Co-Founder of Mycoday

MC – Winner’s Announcement

Dennis Walker is a satirist multimedia producer primarily known for his satirizing of the psychedelic space.

He is the founder of Mycopreneur, with which he has platformed over 150 mushroom entrepreneurs from 25 countries on six continents. The Mycopreneur platform is a globally recognized leader in the psychedelic media space, with recent press coverage in Rolling Stone, Forbes, High Times, and many other outlets.

Walker is also the Co-Founder of Mycoday functional mushroom chocolate.

LinkedIn • Mycopreneur • Mycoday

Producer. Creative Visionary. Cultural Alchemist. Liquid Culture Records A&R

Nutritious is an artist, creative visionary, and cultural alchemist, renowned for blending creativity and innovation across diverse industries.

Supporting his coveted performances and trailblazing projects, including A&R at Liquid Culture and his role as a member of the founding team of DoubleBlind Magazine—a biannual print magazine and digital media company celebrated for its pioneering coverage of psychedelics, mental health, and cultural transformation—Nutritious has been featured by esteemed institutions and publications such as The Whitney Museum of American Art, Rodarte, The New York Times, and more. His recent release “Ether,” from The Soft Dark, is in regular rotation on SiriusXM Chill, significantly expanding his influence across satellite radio.

He's a contributing author to the bestselling book Living Well by Montel Williams and spearheads numerous impactful projects that emphasize creativity, holistic well-being, and equitable access to opportunities. Nutritious excels in building supportive communities and collaborating with visionary entrepreneurs, innovative business leaders, and creatives to cultivate environments where innovation thrives and meaningful connections are forged.

Committed to fostering lasting positive change, Nutritious advocates for strategies that empower individuals and communities to think differently, solve problems creatively, and contribute meaningfully to the world.                                                                                                              

Liquid Culture • Nutritious • Instagram • Spotify • Soundcloud

Multidisciplinary Artist

East Forest is the project of multidisciplinary artist Krishna-Trevor Oswalt. Since 2008 his "lush" (Rolling Stone) and “blissful" (NPR) music has moved between ambient, neoclassical, electronic, and experimental sound.

Before East Forest, Oswalt studied film at Vassar College and trained at the IATT at Harvard University, earning his MFA from the Moscow Art Theatre, a background that continues to shape the architecture of his concerts and events.

He works as a performer, recording artist, producer, speaker, teacher, and filmmaker, and his compositions are heard everywhere from concert halls to clinical and research settings, including active studies at UCSF.

In 2019 he released Music for Mushrooms, a five-hour album written to accompany a complete psilocybin session. The feature documentary of the same name (2024) played theatrically in over 100 markets in the US and internationally.

His latest album, The Invitation, As We Gathered, highlights live recordings from his global gatherings. He teaches on the faculty of the Esalen Institute and performs worldwide.

eastforest.org • Instagram • Spotify • YouTube

Video Artist and Content Creator

‍ ‍

Emily Eaglin (@Chrysantilus) is a Video Artist and Content Creator based in Brooklyn NY. Her YouTube Channel serves a DIY resource, dedicated to demystifying and destigmatizing "The Trip". 

Her signature style can be seen throughout her content, films, music videos, and comedic series pilot with Hannibal Buress entitled, "Trippin with Nesh & Lee Lee". She gives deep gratitude to Sacred Earth Medicines and their Lineages as her "Source Material".

chrysantilus.com • TikTok • Instagram • YouTube • Patreon

Multi-media Artist

Harry Pack explores the depths of altered consciousness and heightened perception through his work. His creative practice, spanning painting, illustration, and digital media, reflects his fascination with the meeting point between psychedelic experiences and the inner workings of the human mind.

Drawing from states of transcendence, Harry crafts immersive landscapes where intricate fractals, flowing geometries, and surreal figures come together to create an experience that feels both alien and oddly familiar. These extraordinary realms are populated by ethereal beings, futuristic shapes, and animated forms that seem to exist beyond time and space.

What makes Harry’s art particularly unique is the way he incorporates the spiritual toolkit he developed in recovery into his creative process. This inner work has given him a profound connection to the healing power of art, which he channels into every piece, offering viewers an invitation to explore their own subconscious and tap into a sense of the infinite. His work encourages contemplation beyond the material world, allowing for an exploration of the mystical and eternal.

Website • Instagram

Storyteller, Filmmaker, and Experience Designer; Co-founde Global Psychedelic Society

Mareesa Stertz is the founding artist of Sphinx Gate, the immersive installation that received the largest honorarium at Burning Man 2025 and has since deployed in three formats across seven events.

A filmmaker and storyteller whose documentary work appears on Gaia TV, she is co-founder of the Global Psychedelic Society and Lucid News, creator- facilitator of story workshops, and originated inner hygiene as an umbrella for this work. Her work has been covered by Forbes, Psychedelics Today, and DoubleBlind.

TheSphinxGate.com • ConfessionsofaPsychonaut.com • GlobalPsychedelic.org • TheSeeingMachine.com