Founder of COOL HUNTING • Creative Director, Editor, Photographer

Category: Visual Design & Branding

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.com rrresonate.com

Founder Zoe Wilder Public Relations & Liquid Culture Records

Judging Board and Category: Storytelling

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 Success Centers; a strategic advisor at Psychedelics Design; and a member of the Association For Electronic Music.

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

Executive Editor at Design Week

Category: Products & Services

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

Creative Director for Hitachi Brand, Global Corporate Brand & Communications, Hitachi

Category: Products & Services

With over 30 years of experience in the creative industries, Hector Pottie has worked across a global client base and multiple sectors. He currently serves as Creative Director for Hitachi Brand, Global Corporate Brand & Communications at Hitachi. His expertise is both broad and deep: in the past decade alone, he has led agency teams delivering global brand programs for Hitachi, Facebook, Hewlett Packard, Ubisoft, Google, and Samsung Galaxy, among others.

Hector works closely with strategic and development teams and is engaged in every aspect of running a contemporary, tier-one branding agency. His role is multi-layered: driving creative excellence, navigating complex stakeholder environments, collaborating with in-house client teams, partnering with executive and C-suite sponsors, and building alignment within global organizations that are often siloed and distributed.

He is particularly interested in what enables creative teams to thrive. His leadership centers on creating the conditions for great work to emerge, mentoring and supporting teams to achieve the best work of their careers.

Detail-driven and deeply committed to design as a positive force for change, Hector pairs clear vision with seasoned execution. In addition to brand and creative leadership, he has extensive experience commissioning and art directing work from photographers, filmmakers, illustrators, animators, renderers, creative technologists, and other specialist collaborators.

Hector has worked with several leading global design and brand agencies, including Moving Brands, Method, Wolff Olins, Prophet, Marque Creative, Made Thought, Cartlidge Levene, and MetaDesign.

His work has been recognized with 7 D&AD Pencils, The Drum Awards, Art Directors Club of New York, Creative Review Annual, Fast Company Innovation Awards, and Scottish Design Awards. His personal work has been exhibited at London’s Design Museum.

LinkedIn

Creative Director DoubleBlind Magazine, Graduate Design Professor Pratt

Category: Visual Design & Branding

David Good is the Creative Director at DoubleBlind. As a brand strategist, illustrator, and graphic designer, David has worked with clients including the Museum of Sex, The Box, and The Center for Optimal Living, among others.

He formerly worked as a brand designer at NeueHouse, a private cultural and collaborative space for prominent creatives, artists, and entrepreneurs. In 2017, he received his Master’s in Fine Arts from Pratt Institute and is now a graduate design professor at Pratt in New York.

Instagram • LinkedIn • DoubeBlind

Architect, Designer, Landscape Designer and Founder of Derek Castiglioni Studio

Category: Architectural & Space

Derek Castiglioni is an Italian architect, designer, and landscape designer based in Milan.

His research is distinguished by a multidisciplinary and innovative approach, exploring expressive languages that move beyond conventional boundaries and predefined definitions.

His work seamlessly navigates the fields of architecture, interior design, and product design, shaping a recognizable language in which design rigor, aesthetic sensitivity, and material experimentation coexist in harmonious balance. His practice integrates artistic and cultural references, reinterpreting the legacy of twentieth-century masters while projecting a forward-looking vision toward new horizons in Italian design.

As the founder of Derek Castiglioni Studio, he develops cross-disciplinary projects ranging from contract design to collectible pieces, from hospitality to retail, as well as providing artistic and image consultancy for brands in the food and lifestyle sectors. His philosophy is grounded in the ability to innovate without losing authenticity, pursuing a contemporary language that values both the roots of the past and a forward-thinking perspective. Each project becomes a distinctive signature, transforming spaces and products into memorable experiences that engage and inspire.

Born into a family of some of the most innovative landscape designers in Italy, Castiglioni has also established a recognized practice in this field, creating bespoke gardens and terraces while collaborating with leading Italian and international firms. His work in landscape design is characterized by deep botanical and environmental knowledge, combined with meticulous attention to detail, resulting in living environments that reconnect people with nature.

Among his most significant projects are furniture collections, interior interventions, and collectible design pieces developed in collaboration with leading galleries such as Nilufar Gallery and Delvis Unlimited, and presented at major international platforms including Design Miami and other key fairs. His work has been featured in prominent Italian and international architecture and lifestyle publications, attesting to the strength and distinctiveness of his visual language.

Collaborations with influential figures and brands in the fields of luxury and visual culture, including Dimore Studio, Karla Otto, and Kohler, reflect a pioneering vision capable of elevating the rhythms and rituals of contemporary living.

Through his work, Derek constructs a coherent and refined universe in which design becomes a language, architecture transforms into experience, and beauty emerges as an everyday gesture.

Instagram Derek Castiglioni Studio

Artist, A&R at Liquid Culture, Founding team member of DoubleBlind Magazine

Category: Music

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

Community Partnerships Manager Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)

Category: Educational & Community Impact

Dedicated to maintaining lasting relationships with a focus on building community, Ms. Vensel is a hard working entrepreneur, events producer, creative marketing executive, and podcast host based in Pittsburgh, PA.

Ms. Vensel is the co-founder of Plant Media Project, a women-owned boutique agency specializing in plant medicine education and advocacy. PMP hosts the Vine: A Plant Media Project podcast discussing the changing landscape of cannabis and psychedelics. Learn more at PlantMediaProject.com.

In her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, she is the owner of Easy Street Promotions (EasyStreetPgh.com), an events and marketing company.

Ms. Vensel's philosophy in business is hard work, open communication, honesty, and an attention to detail. A strong communicator with a creative spirit that seeks to connect with professionals with similar ethics.

Professional services Include: Marketing, Event Production, Advertising, Publishing, Public Relations, Social Media, Digital Marketing, Writing (Creative + Copywriting), Sustainable Event Consultation, Event Coordination,, Event Marketing, Content Marketing, Content Planning Strategist, Promotions, Band/Art/Nonprofit Collaborations, Music Booking / Management, Digital Influencer Outreach, Business Development, Account Management, Video Direction, Commercial Direction, Health & Wellness, and Cannabis and Psychedelics Education + Advocacy.

LinkedIn • MAPS

Architect, Musician and Founder at Director at GoKo

Category: Architectural & Space

Chris studied architecture in Madrid and moving to Mexico, he founded the GoKo design firm in 2011 where he has developed residential, corporate and commercial spaces, as well as the Chapel Music Studio in Mexico City. Chris also started painting minimal pieces as a healing process when his brother passed away and as a musician, he collaborated with different artists. 

LinkedIn • Instagram • GoKo • Chris Koehn Music

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

Category: Educational & Community Impact

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

Photographer, Artist, Creative Director

Category: Art & Photography

Julian Essink is a German photographer, artist & creative director, living in Berlin. Following his bachelor’s degree in Photography & Media at Fachhochschule Bielefeld in 2016, Julian began living between Barcelona and Los Angeles.
These formative years abroad allowed him to expand his visual language from a commercial to an editorial standpoint.

Julian focuses on the subtle emotion present in every interaction, looking to show the stories his subjects are communicating. His approach to authenticity translates into reduced, honest, and often documentary-like images.

Commercial portfolio includes work for brands such as Adidas, Sennheiser, BMW, Dr. Hauschka and American Express. 

In late 2022 Julian published his first photo book ‘La búsqueda por los puntos de vista / The search for the points of view’.

Instagram • Website

Photographer

Category: Art & Photography

Luke is known for his enthusiastic approach to work and life.

Studying graphic design focused his love for composition and aesthetics.

Early works became devoid of text that led on to him working exclusively in the medium of photography.

His curiosity, open mind and enthusiasm have enabled him to work on many projects with leading agencies, art directors, set designers and model makers on award winning campaigns.

He approaches all projects macro or micro with the same passion, precision and playfulness.

Within the framework of his own personal work he seeks to explore larger scale projects which continually develop his personal creative style. A style that is clean, yet atmospheric, staying close to a naturalistic feel, whilst enhancing the mood of each environment and the subject placed within. "I want people to believe in what we have created, as much as if they were standing in front of it themselves"

Clients include: Bacardi, Bombay Sapphire, Honda, Hugo Boss, John Lewis, Lexus, Nissan, O2, Rimmel London, Samsung, Space NK, Tommy Hilfiger, TFL, Volkswagen and Zalando.

Instagram • Website

Co-Founder of Kei

Category: Experimental

Kevin is an experience design leader who helps organizations envision new possibilities, make sound decisions, and execute skillfully.

With a strong focus on systems thinking, Kevin excels at applying a holistic approach to complex challenges. His expertise encompasses a variety of disciplines, such as research, strategy, experience design, creative direction, cross-functional team management, and business management.

Throughout his career, Kevin has assisted hundreds of organizations in translating customer and business needs into successful product and brand solutions. He has had the privilege of collaborating with some of the world's most renowned companies, including Apple, BBC, Microsoft, MoMA, Nike, Google, and TED Conferences.

For over 30 years, Kevin has been committed to creating and growing design-centric businesses, including the design firm Method, which he founded in 1998. In 2016, he launched Mirra, an innovative no-code XR design tool that enables people to create professional-grade AR and VR experiences without the need for 3D expertise.

LinkedIn • Kei

Founder & Executive Director, Fireside Project

Category: Education & Community Impact

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

Design Director Airbnb & WhatsApp

Category: Architectural & Space

Catherine Nygaard is a seasoned design leader with extensive experience across global digital products and brand experiences. She has held senior roles at major technology platforms — most recently as Director of Design at WhatsApp, and formerly at Airbnb, Spotify and Method — where she shaped meaningful products, services and user experiences.

In her work Catherine blends craft and strategy, designing with empathy, insight and a deep understanding of human-centred systems. Her career spans driving creative excellence, collaborating with executive teams, aligning multi-disciplinary stakeholders and mentoring design talent to deliver work of lasting impact.

Catherine is committed to using design as a force for positive change — whether that’s streamlining global brand experiences, enabling seamless digital interactions, or fostering environments where creative teams thrive. Her approach remains grounded in thoughtful innovation, attention to detail, and the belief that design should connect meaning with function.

LinkedIn

Founder Mycopreneur & Co-founder Mycoday

Category: Storytelling

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 • YouTube • Mycopreneur • Mycoday

Founder of Sporesight

Category: Experimental

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

Ethics Committee and Review Board

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

Writer, Editor, Practitioner & CEO of Enlightenment.Com

Category: Storytelling

Jordan Gruber, JD, CEO of the active early online Enlightenment.Com community, has a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, and both a philosophy BA and public policy MA from Binghamton University.

After practicing law at Cooley Godward and focusing on IP law at NASA’s Moffett Field, and working at GNOSIS Magazine (a highly respected journal of the Western esoteric tradition), what emerged was “The Practical Wordsmith”—writer, ghostwriter, editor, practitioner, and sometimes coach of many transformational modalities.

As such, Jordan has co-created cutting-edge works on everything from forensic audio and financial services to health, wellness, psychology, and spirituality. His writing and editorial acumen, collaborative skills, and wide-ranging knowledge brings forth easy-to-read books woven with astute detail. Recent editorial contributions include a book on mindfulness for law students, a co-authored book on rebound exercise, a book on Jungian “shadow play,” and a guide to building a better physique.

Jordan has been close friends with Jim Fadiman since the early 1990s, when over time Jordan would regularly seek advice on his Enlightenment project. Jordan contributed to Jim’s 2011 book, The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide (2011), and in 2020 their co-authored book on healthy multiplicity—Your Symphony of Selves: Discover and Understand More of Who We Are (Inner Traditions)—debuted.

After that, Jordan and Jim wrote Microdosing for Health, Healing, and Enhanced Performance (St. Martin’s Press, 2025), which debuted on Feb 18, 2025, with a paperback coming in early 2026.

LinkedIn • Enlightenment.Com • MicrodosingBook.com • jordangruber.substack.com/

Brand Designer & Art Director

Category: Visual Design & Branding

Carla creates influential and provocative brand experiences. Her work cultivates more meaningful connections between progressive brands and socially conscious audiences with high expectations.

Working as an independent freelance designer and art director, Carla works predominantly with beauty, fashion, food and lifestyle brands from all around the globe. With an extensive creative network, Carla forms specialist teams that cater to the individual needs of her clients, resulting in strong collaborations and more impactful results.

From conception to outcome, Carla uses finely-tuned processes in conceptual design and strategic thinking to execute on aesthetically striking visual identity systems, boutique packaging and thought-provoking advertising.

LinkedIn • Website

Founder Portier & Creative / AI Strategist

Category: Products & Services

Koen Oosterbroek is a creative AI strategist and the founder of Portier, a design-driven essentials brand inspired by ritual and everyday presence. He has held strategic roles at Nike, VICE Media, and Ahold Delhaize, working at the intersection of creativity, technology, and cultural innovation. Koen collaborates with leaders and teams to navigate emerging digital systems, helping them translate AI and media shifts into thoughtful, measurable action.

He is also the winner of the 2025 Psychedelics Design Award in the Products & Services category for his work with Portier, recognized for its sensory sensitivity and wellbeing-focused design approach.

WINNER OF 2025 • PRODUCTS & SERVICES

LinkedIn • Portier

Strategic Advisor, Altered-States Innovator; former Partner McKinsey

Ethics Committee and Review Board

Jalen is a seasoned senior leader and mentor who is passionate about creativity and its ability to catalyze and sustain meaningful change.

After a successful multi-decade tenure building and guiding design at the highly regarded LUNAR in San Francisco - receiving the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewett National Product Design Award in 2015, the same year it was acquired by the preeminent management consulting McKinsey & Co. – he became a Partner, and was responsible for ensuring the successful integration of design and for scaling the capability within McKinsey’s North American practice.

Over the course of his 30 years in industry, he embodied a unique marriage of Executive level Strategy and Storytelling, with deeply seasoned Product Development expertise.

At the start of 2020, a personal tragedy ‘ruptured’ life as Jalen (then Jeff) knew it. While he remained passionate about igniting the spirit of exploration to shape better futures for his clients, he was disenchanted by working for industry. He realized that meaningful impact comes when we first focus inwards and that truly authentic change must start there. He pivoted away from the only industry he’d ever known, and ventured into the new territory.

Since then, he has been on a journey to complement his 30 years of helping teams and companies innovate their way through change, by exploring the world of alter-states “inner” innovation. In 2024, he graduated from Psychedelics Today’s year long Vital training, and completed Internal Family Systems (IFS) level one equivalent training with the Moxie School.

In 2024, Jalen launched Altered, a project focused on weaving together insights, prinicples, and practices of altered-states and inner-expansion

LinkedIn

Founder, TBW Brand & Communications Advisory, PSYCA (Psychedelics for Climate Action)

Ethics Committee and Review Board

Advancing new ideas and connecting people, Feinberg’s advisory offers communications, marketing, digital, and brand storytelling services in sectors ranging from social and environmental impact to health and wellness, and arts and entertainment. Feinberg's "triple bottom why" method aligns her clients’ Whys with their organizations and audiences. Identifying Why also highlights values, supporting the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit.

Feinberg also serves as fractional PR & Brand Director for Nushama. To humanize medicine, Nushama provides sustained relief from depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction and trauma-induced mood disorders with ketamine therapy. In their first year and a half, Feinberg’s company secured 130+ news stories and implemented its brand strategy.

Feinberg also holds this role at Condor Growth, a team of digital marketers driving revenue and growth for health and wellness brands. Overall, Feinberg raises the profile of her clients, building the platform for them to achieve their goals, whether they are raising awareness or capital. From Fortune 500 companies to Series B startups, Feinberg and her clients have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and innumerable others. Feinberg also co-founded Green Spaces NY, one of the first coworking and events spaces for environmental and social entrepreneurs, acquired by MissionHUB, becoming Impact Hub NYC. For this work, Feinberg was recognized by Gotham’s “The List,” profiled in Mashable, Crain’s, Forbes, Triple Pundit, and NY1, and more. Feinberg then served as Vice President, Marketing + PR, of MissionHUB, the acquirer network of Impact Hub campuses and SOCAP Conference for impact investors.

As her work was widely featured in the media, and Feinberg developed a passion for generating awareness for values-aligned people and organizations, she launched Triple Bottom Why after her acquisition, supporting organizations through the power of storytelling as a strategy. From social innovation to coworking and psychedelic therapy, Feinberg specializes in educating, building, and growing new markets. Feinberg frequently gives “Articulate Your Why” talks and speaks about marketing and brand storytelling for startups and social enterprises via the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, among others. In her free time, she serves on the boards/advisories of Green Map, The Predistribution Initiative, Entertainment for Change, and more. Feinberg is also a SAG-AFTRA actress, represented by Take3Talent and AMT Agency.

LinkedIn • Instagram • PSYCA • TBW

Author & Psychedelic Scholar

Ethics Committee and Review Board

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 and has read over 85 books on the topic. He has worked with many organizations in the field, has held about 700 professional ceremonies, and been a guest on about a 100 podcasts.

LinkedIn • Website

Founder of Wavepaths

Category: Audio & Music

Mendel Kaelen is the founder and CEO of Wavepaths, a company started in 2019 that has supported more than 40.000 individual psychedelic therapy sessions in more than 35 different countries with bespoke and adaptive music compositions. Mendel worked as a PhD and postdoctoral neuroscientist at Imperial College London since 2011, where his research was the first to demonstrate music’s central role in psychedelic therapies.

He is considered a thought leader on the therapeutic use of music, and teaches and writes frequently on this topic.  Mendel currently lives and works on planet Earth.

LinkedIn • Wavepaths

Founding Partner & Registered Patent Attorney at Calyx Law

Ethics Committee and Review Board

Graham Pechenik is a registered patent attorney and partner at Calyx Law LLP, where he specializes in intellectual-property strategy for the psychedelics, cannabis, and emerging biopharmaceutical sectors.

With a focus on the frontier of legal innovation, Graham helps early-stage ventures, established companies, and academic innovators navigate patent protection, regulatory frameworks, and commercialization pathways. He is widely recognized for his expertise in the complex intersection of patent law, public policy, and transformative plant- and molecule-based medicine.

Graham is also a frequent speaker, panelist and author on topics including ethical IP practices, de-risking psychedelic innovation, and balancing indigenous knowledge with global commercialization. His commentary has appeared in outlets such as Law360, Wired, and STAT News.

LinkedIn • Calyx Law LLP

Founder of How Might We Design

Category: Experimental

Her work is driven by a passion to transform patient, provider, and caregiver experiences globally.

To achieve this, Tracy creates large-scale new business offerings and organizational transformation, from strategy and visioning, to design and implementation. Most recently, in the Fall of 2022, Tracy DeLuca, Elysa Fenenbock, and Dr. Gianni Glick co-taught Stanford d.school's first course in Psychedelic Medicine x Design.

For the previous two years, she helped lead the creation and launch of Ripple, a clinically-integrated behavior-change and condition management program in Singapore for people living with Type 2 diabetes.

Previously, as Design Lead for Sutter Health, one of the largest non-profit healthcare systems in the U.S., serving over 3.5 million patients, Tracy helped develop Sutter’s first Design & Innovation team, and led them through a multi-million dollar, system-wide new Primary Care of the Future offering. Implementation of TeraPractice, a more patient- and provider-centered approach to care, includes a new insurance and delivery model, and has so far scaled from pilot launch in April 2018 to 7 locations, with expansion plans for 40 more care teams. So far, these efforts have resulted in a consistent 28% reduction in total cost of care, and Tera earning “Sutter Health’s 2019 Quality Award,” for top measurement scores across the entire system.

Additionally, Tracy helped lead strategy and design for Sutter’s Mental Health Reimagined initiative, where her work focused on a human-centered deep dive into the Psychiatric Acute Care experience, and strategic development of an engagement platform to support youth 15-22, and their caregivers, as they transition out of formal care back into their everyday lives.

LinkedIn

Founder and director of Psychedelic Lived Experiences

Ethics Committee and Review Board

Pedram Dara is the founder and director of Psychedelic Lived Experiences, a patient-led initiative bridging clinical science and lived experience to strengthen decision-making in research, practice, and policy through integrated insights.

A former participant in an MDMA-assisted therapy clinical trial, Pedram has advocated for improved patient safety and treatment efficacy since 2019. Combining his background in media and technology with qualitative intelligence and systems design, he is building participant-centered infrastructure that enhances safety, ethics, and long-term outcomes in clinical innovation.

He organizes the Psychedelic Lived Experiences Summit, a global convening of over 3,000 attendees from 74 countries, uniting patients, trial participants, therapists, and researchers to center lived expertise in institutional decision-making. His perspectives have been shared with policymakers at the U.S. FDA and the European Parliament and featured in leading journals, including Nature Medicine.

Pedram collaborates with researchers, therapists, sponsors, and regulators to reinforce governance, risk visibility, and accountability—helping shape a future where healthcare advances with rigor, integrity, and the people most affected at the center.

LinkedIn • Psychedelic Lived Experiences

General Counsel at Fluence

Ethics Committee and Review Board

Adriana Kertzer is General Counsel at Fluence, the global leader in providing training in psychedelic therapy to healthcare professionals and clinical trial teams. She began her career as a corporate associate on Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s Latin American capital markets team before serving as Acting Assistant General Counsel at the Guggenheim Museum. Adriana expanded her legal and strategic expertise through roles at the Cooper Hewitt Museum as a Curatorial Fellow, as Curatorial Assistant & Digital Strategist at the Museum of Arts and Design, and as Senior Advisor to the Senior Deputy Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts during the Obama Administration. In 2020, Adriana co-founded Plant Medicine Law Group, a boutique law firm specializing in novel mental health infrastructure, where she served as principal before selling assets and transitioning relationships to Emerge Law Group. Adriana is passionate about mental health, community building, and Jewish contemporary culture. Through the Jewish Healing Society, she dedicates herself to ensuring there is a Jewish voice in psychedelic science and a Jewish home in psychedelic culture.

LinkedIn • Fluence