MAY 15, 2025 | ONLINE
The Awards Conference
Welcome to the ONLINE EVENT of the PSYCHEDELICS DESIGN AWARDS where we will highlight achievements in design, innovation, and advocacy while fostering a community of collaboration.
Look forward to inspiring panel discussions, the announcement of winners, and much more.
Tickets starting at $ 28
in partnership with
Closing Meditation
East Forest
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East Forest is a multidisciplinary artist, producer, and ceremony guide. Since 2008, East Forest’s “lush” (Rolling Stone) and “blissful” (NPR) music has blended ambient, neoclassical, electronic, and avant-pop to explore sound as a tool for inner journeys and consciousness expansion.
The project's latest endeavor is the feature-length film Music for Mushrooms, a narrative documentary showcasing the transformative power of psychedelics, music, and community. The forthcoming long-form record, “Lovingly: A Soundtrack For The Psychedelic Practitioner, vol. III” serves as a musical answer to the film’s central journey: providing an album to guide listeners on deep journeys of introspection from start to finish. The six-hour piece will release in full on February 14, 2025 via Aquilo Records.
East Forest's extensive catalog includes over 30 albums and notable collaborations with artists such as Ram Dass, Jon Hopkins, Laraaji, Dead Prez, Nick Mulvey, Peter Broderick, Max Cooper, and DJ ANNA. The project has performed in over 18 countries at major festivals and venues including BottleRock, Beyond The Pale, Mysteryland, Wilderness and SXSW.
As a trailblazer in meditation and inner resilience, East Forest offers guided meditations, retreats, and a podcast ("Ten Laws w/East Forest"). His approach promotes non-religious, accessible spirituality. He's a faculty member at the Esalen Institute and has collaborated with institutions across social justice, mental health, science, music, and creative fields, including Google, Johns Hopkins University, UCSF, New Earth, Stanford d.school, and TED.
His work has appeared on Bright Antenna, Domino, Ghostly, Aquilo Records, 1631 Recordings, Mercury KX, as well as Tender Loving Empire & Universal/Decca.
Opening Talk
Dr Bruce Damer
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Dr. Bruce Damer is Canadian-American multidisciplinary scientist, designer, and author. In his role as a world-renowned Astrobiologist at the UC Santa Cruz Department of Biomolecular Engineering, Dr. Damer collaborates with colleagues developing and testing a new scenario for the origin of life on Earth and where it might arise in the universe.
As a designer he has provided innovative spacecraft architectures to NASA and others which could provide a viable path for the expansion of life and human civilization beyond the Earth. Dr. Damer has recently gone on public record that during his career he has used a combination of mindfulness practices and psychedelics to achieve some of his key scientific and technical breakthroughs.
His passion in co-founding MINDS is that many others with special capacities in these realms should have access to scientifically validated protocols, community and mentorship, and pathways to transform their own novel insights into solutions to bring about a brilliant future for all of us.
Along with his role at MINDS, he also serves as Chief Scientist at the BIOTA Institute and his work has been featured in high-level scientific journals, popular science publications, news outlets, documentaries and on numerous podcasts. He collaborates with a wide range of scientists and thinkers in fields as diverse as evolutionary biology, philosophy, spirituality, and AI.
He is a frequent speaker on topics in science, space, and the philosophical and spiritual implications of the scientific quest to discover the solution to the mystery of our deepest origins.
Matt Gillespie
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I'm a multidisciplinary product designer, marketer, and philomath (lover of learning) with a knack for helping impact-oriented organizations make waves.
My professional experience spans green tech, AI, Web3, neuroscience, performance psychology, psychedelic policy, regenerative finance, web design, and media production.
We’re honoured to open the Psychedelics Design Awards with a short talk by visionaries Dr Bruce Damer and Matt Gillespie from the Center of Minds. Together, they’ll explore how psychedelics can unlock radically new ways of approaching design, innovation, and the complex challenges of our time.
From evolutionary biology to immersive systems design, their work spans disciplines and is grounded in tangible creative processes.
This conversation sets the tone for the event: expansive, interdisciplinary, and rooted in the belief that better futures can be designed when we dissolve old boundaries of thinking.
Meet the Speakers
Emma Marshall
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Emma is a writer, creative director, educator, and founder of MIM HQ, an education platform that bridges music, movement, and science. Her focus is on embodied learning, removing traditional academic barriers to make music and movement education more accessible to the general public. She has a particular interest in electronic music, percussion, and the effects of rhythm on our physiology.
She developed a methodology called Movement is Medicine®, which uses electronic music, BPM, tempo, and specific movement practices to help people reconnect their minds and bodies and complete the stress cycle. The method has been taught to thousands globally and is now an accredited training programme for instructors worldwide. Emma has been featured on TEDx, This Morning, Marie Claire, and other major media platforms with this work.
She recently self published her first book titled ‘Music is Medicine’, which weaves her personal health journey with neuroscience, cultural traditions, and global stories, from indigenous drum and dance circles to modern-day rave culture, showing that raving can be a form of catharsis and ceremony, if we understand it.
Emma is currently completing a PhD by Public Works on ‘Using Electronic Music as Medicine,’ combining scientific research and real-world stories from DJ’s to challenge outdated narratives around electronic music, club culture, and healing.
LinkedIn
MIM HQ
Joe Moore
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Joe Moore co-founded Psychedelics Today in 2016 with Kyle Buller. As CEO, Joe has co-created one of the planet's best-known psychedelic podcasts and training platforms. He combines over 20 years of avid psychedelic study and training with over 20 years of experience in software and multinational project management.
Joe is a leading expert in transpersonal breathwork, a board member of the Psychedelic and Pain Association and the Psychedelic Medicine Coalition, and a sought-after international speaker on the intersecting subjects of psychedelic medicine and healing, breathwork, drug policy, medical innovation, international justice, and environmentalism.
Brandon Deroche
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Brandon Deroche founded Propeller in 2015, leading the company with over 16 years of experience creating social impact campaigns for some of the largest personalities in the world, from Lizzo and Justin Bieber to Chappell Roan and Bon Iver, leveraging their influence to drive millions of fans to take action for causes.
In 2022, Deroche launched PORTAL: an initiative to destigmatize the responsible use of psychedelics. Portal combines culture, events, community, and advocacy to inspire inner action while raising money and awareness for psychedelic nonprofits.
Before founding Propeller, Brandon Deroche was the Executive Director of The Make Yourself Foundation, the charitable arm of Incubus, where he helped raise millions of dollars for various non the band wanted to support. Prior to his impact work, Brandon toured the U.S. and Europe with his band The Underwater, experiencing firsthand the power of music to inspire and mobilize people—a realization that shaped his approach to using culture for social good to this day.
Chelsea Rose Pires
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Chelsea Rose (she/her) graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles Honors College with a B.A. in psychology in 2007, and received her master’s degree in Integral Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2012. She has a passion for harm reduction as a therapeutic and practical approach to drug use and abuse prevention.
Chelsea has worked with the Zendo Project, providing psychedelic peer support at events around the world, since 2013. Chelsea also manages the reagent drug testing kit program at DanceSafe, a public health organization focused on safety in the night life community. Additionally, she supervises the Crisis Response Team in Nevada County, supporting clients who come into the emergency room in psychiatric crisis. She lives in the Sierra foothills of California with her husband, three children, and their Basenji pup named Mochi.
Mendel Kaelen
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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.
Michael Hyp
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Michael is a brand consultant and strategist with a commitment to crafting narratives that resonate.
As the former Global Brand Marketing Innovation Concept Director of Nike, his recent tenure has been marked by spearheading brand strategies and positioning for key innovation products. Crafting emotional connections for cutting-edge innovations, making them felt by global audiences beyond technical jargon and feature lists.
His work, deeply rooted in consumer insight, has delivered compelling results that elevate the consumer experience and drive market distinction for the brands he partnered with.
Jalen Salazar
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I am a seasoned leader specializing in human-centered innovation for Consumer, Technology, and Life Science industries. After a successful tenure leading design at LUNAR - the renowned creative agency that received the Cooper-Hewet National Product Design Award and that was acquired by McKinsey & Co. in 2015 - I’ve helped build and scale McKinsey’s design capability to 300+ designers globally. As a Partner at McKinsey, I’ve honed my skills in strategically integrating design capabilities within the firm to ensure that results are highly desirable and drive tangible business value. I bring a unique blend of creativity and business acumen; aligning design initiatives with broader organizational strategies to drive effective outcomes at scale.
I am passionate about helping shape a future where organizations elevate their ability to deliver wholistic impact that drives responsible and sustainable growth.LinkedIn
Devon Phillips
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Devon is the Community & Partnerships officer for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). With his work, Devon develops strategies and partnerships to answer the question: “How do we responsibly mainstream psychedelics?” His background is in behavioral neuroscience and human-centered design, but he has a deep love for art, music, and fashion. Before joining MAPS, Devon founded a virtual reality software start-up that was later acquired in 2018.
He is also the co-founder of the harm-reduction fashion company, More Life. Devon describes himself as a culture nerd who loves the complexity of humanity and wants to be the bridge between our cultures and consciousness exploration.
He says you can usually find him under a tree, reading Plato and bumping Biggie.
LinkedIn
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)
Jessa Hurst
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Jessa (she/her) has pursued her passion for healing, transformation, and care-giving throughout her career. She completed her undergraduate studies in Pre-Med at Virginia Tech and The Evergreen State College.
She went on to study Traditional Chinese Medicine at Hilltop Eastern Medicine Clinic and later earned her Birth and Death Doula Certifications to deepen her understanding of care-giving at transformational events. The combination of her health sciences education and personal passion for wellness led her to support various organizations through program building, business development, and marketing. Jessa believes in making the world a safer, more caring place, and looks forward to advancing this shared vision through her work with the Zendo Project.
Alexandra Plesner
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Alexandra bridges psychedelics, design, creativity and future-thinking, envisioning psychedelics as a catalyst for positive change and design as the tool to shape this transformation.
She holds an MA in Applied Imagination from Central Saint Martins and an MSc in Applied Psychology from London Met.
With a decade of strategic design experience, Alexandra held key roles at agencies such as Normally Ltd, Method Inc., and Dazed Media, working globally and receiving recognition via publications and awards. She also works as a designer, creative advisor and volunteer for brands such as Mojo, Hystelica and Zendo Project.
Your Host
Dennis Walker
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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.
Your Co-Hosts
Floris Wolswijk
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Floris, founder of Blossom, holds an MSc in Psychology from Erasmus University. His passion for psychedelics, sparked by personal experiences and scientific exploration, drives his mission to expand their accessibility for medical and self-development purposes.
He also offers psychedelic-assisted coaching sessions with his Fiance in the Netherlands through FLO Coaching. He hopes to play a vital part in making psychedelics more widely available and used.
Alexandra Plesner
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Alexandra bridges psychedelics, design, creativity and future-thinking, envisioning psychedelics as a catalyst for positive change and design as the tool to shape this transformation.
She holds an MA in Applied Imagination from Central Saint Martins and an MSc in Applied Psychology from London Met.
With a decade of strategic design experience, Alexandra held key roles at agencies such as Normally Ltd, Method Inc., and Dazed Media, working globally and receiving recognition via publications and awards. She also works as a designer, creative advisor and volunteer for brands such as Mojo, Hystelica and Zendo Project.
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Welcome by the organisers and hosts:
Floris Wolswijk, Founder Blosoom & Co-founder FLO Coaching
Alexandra Plesner, Founder Psychedelics Design
And partner tba
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We are honoured to have Dr Bruce Damer and Matt Gillespie open this year’s Awards Conference with a few words.
The Center for MINDS is a nonprofit organization advancing research into tools and practices that catalyze breakthrough insights and innovation to help humanity solve its most pressing challenges.
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“Education is most effective when it meets people where they are on their journey. Music is a universal bridge, fostering curiosity and a deeper understanding of psychedelics while encouraging responsible and intentional exploration.” – Devon Phillips
Set and setting are critical factors on your journey. This session will explore the influence of music and sound on the psychedelic experience and beyond.
Confirmed Speakers:
Devon Phillips, Community and Partnerships Officer at MAPS - Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
Zoe Wilder, Founder of Zoe Wilder PR and Liquid Culture Records
Mendel Kaelen, Founder and CEO of Wavepaths
Brandon Deroche, Founder and CEO of Propeller
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As the psychedelic movement continues to inspire new possibilities for personal growth, healing, and design, it’s essential that we also hold space for the full spectrum of psychedelic experiences—including those that are challenging or complex. While many talks at this conference will celebrate the beauty and potential of psychedelics, we feel a deep responsibility to speak to what happens when things don’t go as planned—and to offer skills for meeting those moments with care.
In over 15 years of providing psychedelic support at events around the world, Zendo Project staff and volunteers have assisted thousands of individuals in navigating psychedelic states. Drawing from this depth of experience, we’ll introduce the Zendo Project’s Four Principles of Psychedelic Care—a foundational framework for supporting oneself or others through non-ordinary states of consciousness.
This keynote offers a glimpse into Zendo Project’s broader educational program, the Sitting and Integration Training (SIT), and will provide practical tools and insights for cultivating safety, compassion, and presence when it’s needed most.
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Presentation of awards with a mix of pre-recorded segments and live announcements.
Judges introduce each award category.
Announcement of winners followed by a short presentation from each winner, showcasing their work and impact.
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Continuing the conversation on: Can psychedelics support sustainable design?
This session explores how psychedelic experiences might revolutionize design by unlocking new modes of perception, offering fresh paradigms for addressing complex challenges. This discussion connects psychedelic research with design innovation, providing insights on tackling pressing global issues and highlighting the transformative potential of psychedelics in shaping our future.Confirmed Speakers:
Joe Moore, CEO and Co-Founder of Psychedelics Today
Jalen Salazar, Transformation x Strategic Advisor Former McKinsey
Alexandra Plesner, Designer and Founder of Psychedelics Design
Michael Hyp, Design Leader, Multidisciplinary Visual Artist and Creative Director
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Announcement of the Mushroom of the Year Award by Dennis Walker.
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We are honoured to be able to end this conference and ceremony with a meditation by East Forest.
Agenda
Each presentation has a duration of 45 minutes. We invite you to participate in the Q&A after each talk.
The time zone for the event is PST.
TICKETS
