The Solidarity Series is an initiative by SoundMind Project, a nonprofit aimed at providing access to wellness information and therapy to marginalized groups in Philadelphia and beyond. This free monthly speaker lineups took place from June 2020 – June 2021, with a particular focus on mental and cognitive health, alternative medicine, and psychedelics. All donations related to this series went towards providing educational material and psychotherapy to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), and COVID-19 essential workers in need. Additionally, SoundMind has ongoing scholarships available to BIPOC for educational courses (SoundMind Learning Series) and sliding scale for psychedelic psychotherapy.

Solidarity Series Episode III: Psychedelic Healing

September and October were the psychedelic months of SoundMind Solidarity Series, and we are proud to have welcomed pioneers in the psychedelic therapy field. Some might even call these folks legends.

On September 20th, Hannah McLane was in conversation with Rick Doblin and Marcela Ot'alora G. to discuss how we can use MDMA to heal trauma and mental stress, especially in times such as the current pandemic. Sarah Cohen was a surprise guest, and discussed how Rosh Hashanah can help us think about collective trauma and making amends. Aubrey Howard then led us through a calming and centering transformational Transformational Breath session.

Rick Doblin is the founder and director of MAPS, and has worked tirelessly for over 30 years to get MDMA approved as a therapeutic treatment. Marcela Ot'alora G. is one of the principal investigators for MAPS clinical trials and has a passion for using art to enhance psychedelic healing. Sarah Cohen is an integrative medicine specialist extraordinaire, and Aubrey Howard is an incredible breath work facilitator who has appeared on all of our Solidarity Series events.

In December, we welcomed Joseph McCowan, who is an expert in diversity and inclusion in the psychedelic space, and has a passion for access. Joseph is a MAPS Phase III trial researcher, and also a creative director of SoundMind 'Animations for Access' project, which can be viewed here: https://soundmind.center/animation-for-access

Rick Doblin: Future of Psychedelic Healing

In this session, Dr. McLane interviews Rick Doblin about his vision for the future of psychedelic therapy and how deeply this healing modality is needed in these difficult times.

Rick Doblin is the founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). He received his doctorate in Public Policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and founded MAPS in 1986. He has worked tirelessly for several decades to bring MDMA-assisted therapy to medical approval, which is expected to occur by 2022. Read more at MAPS.org

Marcela Ot'alora G.: MDMA Therapy

In this interview, Dr. McLane and Marcela Ot’alora G. talk about the importance of the concept of addressing shame to heal trauma, their mutual experiences with dyslexia, and her vision for using art to process trauma and in conjunction with MDMA-assisted therapy.

Marcela is one of the Principal Investigators of the Phase 2 and 3 MDMA-assisted therapy trials and is one of the lead trainers for MAPS. She received her MA in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University and MFA from University of Greensboro in North Carolina. She was born and raised in Colombia, South America and now lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Sarah Cohen: Ritual as a Healing Tool

In this video, Dr Cohen discusses the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana, which is the day this session was filmed, and how we can use ritual to heal. Dr. McLane and Dr. Cohen also discuss the concept of collective amends in the context of solidarity and Rosh Hashana.

Dr. Cohen is an Internal Medicine physician and Clinical Herbalist. She is the Founder of Resource Medical Center, an Integrative medicine clinic serving communities throughout Colorado and Pennsylvania. She also works with SoundMind Center.

Aubrey Howard: Transformational Breath

In this session, Aubrey Howard helps us understands how breathwork can be used alone or in conjunction with psychedelic healing to ground us and connect us to our emotions. She leads us through a powerful practice session related to this and talks about her own use of psychedelics in her healing journey.

Aubrey Howard is a Transformational Breath Facilitator and identifies as queer woman of color who believes in the natural healing power of the self through yoga, meditation, breath work, and connection to spirit. Read more about her work here: www.spiritmedicine.co

Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, MD: Meditation, Racial trauma, and Healing

Nicole Christian discusses with Hannah McLane the role of meditation and mindfulness in Black communities, and how these tools can be used to combat some of the negative effects of racial trauma and microaggressions. She also discusses how meditation can help white allies look into themselves in a truthful way to better understand their own biases and ways to address them.

Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, MD is a Board Certified Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist. She is the CEO of Well Minds Psychiatry and Consulting Company. She grew up in the Philadelphia and now practices in the Boston area. Her clinical interests and expertise revolve around delivery of mental health care to seriously ill children, pregnant and post-partum women and families both locally and globally. She is committed to educating medical and lay communities about trauma, mental health, confronting biases addressing racism.

Cindy Kaza: Mediumship, Meditation, and Grief

Medium Cindy Kaza talks with Dr. McLane about the role of mediumship in grief, and how this in many ways is a meditation on our lost loved ones. She also discusses how meditation can be a way to get in touch with our own intuitive side as a way to facilitate healing.

Cindy Kaza is an internationally recognized medium. Cindy has been extremely intuitive since very early childhood. In her early 20’s she realized she was having psychic and mediumistic experiences all along. During this “awakening” she began searching for answers and reasons for her experiences and became aware of her multi-faceted abilities as a psychic medium. She began training not only in the United States but also at the Arthur Findlay School of Intuitive Sciences in Stansted, England. She believes in compassionately sharing her gift with others while also opening up others to the gifts they too possess and that everyone is inherently intuitive and able to feel Spirit!

Michael Baime, MD: Mindfulness for Listening and Understanding Complex Emotions

Michael Baime MD, is interviewed by Hannah McLane MD about how we can use meditation to learn to actively listen to others’ needs, and how it can help us sort out complex emotions that may be making us feel paralyzed in times such as these. During the second part, he led us through a meditation to help us put this into practice.

Michael Baime MD is the Director of the Penn Program for Mindfulness and the Director of Mind-Body Programs for the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He started practicing meditation at the age of eight, taught meditation in a Tibetan Buddhist lineage in the 1980s, and founded the Penn Program for Mindfulness in 1990. Since then, the Penn program has trained more than 20,000 individuals in an immersive eight-week mindfulness program. Dr. Baime is widely recognized for his innovative educational programming, his interactive and engaging presentations, and his effective adaptations of traditional meditation techniques to meet the challenges of modern life.

Aubrey Howard: Breathwork for Centering in Times of Crisis 

Aubrey leads us through a 60-minute virtual breathwork ceremony, which begins with intention setting, 30 minutes of guided Transformational Breathwork, and concludes with a mindfulness meditation. No prior experience in breathwork is necessary to participate in this exercise. The intention is to connect and breathe while holding space in support of all of the Black and Brown people in our community. Breath provides an incredible opportunity to connect each person more deeply with themselves, each other and the collective vision of peace. 

Aubrey Howard finds expression as Transformational Breath Facilitator and identifies as queer woman of color who believes in the natural healing power of the self through yoga, meditation, breath work, and connection to spirit. She feels that at the heart of practice is the art of acceptance, stillness and surrender. Her own challenges with anxiety and depression prompted her to look further at the mind and how its influence affects our physical bodies and the way we move throughout the world; especially in communities of marginalized people. It wasn’t long before Aubrey realized that an exploration of mind, spirit, consciousness, and human potential was beckoning her. Aubrey remains focused on health and wellbeing as she integrates shamanic healing with ancient wisdom to deliver exceptional perspective, skillm and compassion to her students.

Ian Sims: Soundbath for Reharmonizing and Rejuvenation

Ian leads us through an hour of sound healing using singbowls, flute, shaker, and voice. The wash of harmonic frequencies helps to initiate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our rest and digest mode of being that activates the natural healing mechanisms within the body. Furthermore, the tranquil ambient sounds create a safe space for participants to turn their attention inward, observe themselves as they are, and experience the profound healing power of self-acceptance and self-love.

Ian Sims is a musician, yogi and meditation teacher who conducts Soundbath Meditations. Through these healing sessions, Ian creates a sonic environment to support physical restoration, mental balance, and spiritual development. He leads these meditations in both group and private settings as a member of ENO∞ONU, a collective that provides sustainable tools for healing with the Artist healer as the facilitator. In addition to his Soundbath Meditations, he regularly produces and performs his own music under the moniker Run Child Run. He released his second album, Peace Process in August 2019.

Robin Hall: Sleep Mindfulness and Penn POC-Mindfulness Initiative

Robin A. Hall, BA, is the Operations Manager for the Penn Program for Mindfulness as well as an MBSR Instructor. Robin developed, coordinates and facilitates programs for the People of Color Initiative that was created to make mindfulness programming more relevant and accessible to that audience.

Jared Chiang-Zeizel: Lucid Dreaming for Clarity and Wellness

Jared Chiang-Zeizel is a published author, award-winning writer, lucid dreaming expert, and filmmaker. In 2013, 'A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming' was released by Workman Publishing. Upon its release, the book was an indie bestseller. It is currently available in 11 languages.

Cindy Kaza: Paranormal Activity and Dreams

Cindy Kaza is an internationally recognized medium. She is featured on the Travel Channel’s Holzer Files, and is training to be a psychedelic-assisted therapist.

Miles Bukiet: Dreams, Impermanence, and Pandemic Stress

Miles Bukiet, MSC, is a meditation teacher with a passion for interpersonal meditation. He received his Masters of Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and has practiced two years of solitary retreat under the guidance of Alan Wallace, PhD and Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD.

Philip Gehrman, PhD: Insomnia and Sleep Disturbance During a Pandemic

In his interview with Dr. Hannah McLane, Dr. Gehrman discusses how to recognize sleep disturbance versus insomnia, and the importance of circadian cycles. Dr. McLane and Dr. Gehrman discuss the role sleep has on mental health, and how the irregularities in our daily lives as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are reflected in our sleep patterns.

Dr. Gehrman is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and a clinical psychologist at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. He directs the Sleep, Neurobiology and Psychopathology lab at Penn. He has an active research program exploring the mechanisms and treatment of sleep and circadian dysregulation in the context of mental health disorders. Dr. Gehrman’s clinical specialization is on the delivery of cognitive behavioral and chronotherapeutic interventions for insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, and other sleep disorders. The overarching goal of his work is to advance the understanding of the links between sleep and mental illness through translational research that spans biology to therapeutics.

Jeff Guss, MD: Dreams and Psychedelics 

Jeff Guss joined us to discuss Dreams and Psychedelics. It was such a fascinating talk.

Jeff is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. He was Co-PI and Director of Psychedelic Psychotherapy for the NYU Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Research Project. He is interested in integrating psychedelic therapy with psychoanalysis theory and practice. Dr. Guss maintains a private practice of psychiatry in New York City, specializing in psychotherapy as well as the outpatient treatment of addictive disorders.

Sarah Cohen, MD: Integrative Medicine for Sleep Health

Dr. Cohen and Dr. McLane discuss the role that integrative medicine plays in sleep health. Dr. Cohen goes into depth about her experience treating patients who use cannabis medicinally, and how it has been reported to affect their sleep patterns and dreams. She also shares some valuable information about other medicinal plants that you may have never heard of.

Sarah Cohen, MD is an Internal Medicine physician and clinical herbalist, who is dedicated to best practices in health care. She is the Founder of Resource Medical Center, a Philadelphia -based clinic offering comprehensive Integrative Medicine consultations and Medical Cannabis evaluations. She completed a hospital-based Internal Medicine training with the Thomas Jefferson University Health System in Philadelphia, PA., and a Fellowship at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine in Tucson, AZ. In continuation with her lifelong awe and study of botanical medicine, Dr. Cohen is a forever learner of cultivation, identification, pharmacologic extraction and clinical application of medicinal plants and fungi. Dr. Cohen observes that it is at the meeting place of time-honored healing wisdom and modern science where medicine is most marvelous and effective.

Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, MD: Equity, Sleep, and BIPOC

Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite returns to Soundmind Solidarity Series to discuss equity, and the role of stress and sleep during a pandemic within BIPOC communities.

Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, MD is a Board Certified Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist. She is the CEO of Well Minds Psychiatry and Consulting Company. She grew up in the Philadelphia and now practices in the Boston area. Her clinical interests and expertise revolve around delivery of mental health care to seriously ill children, pregnant and post-partum women and families both locally and globally. She is committed to educating medical and lay communities about trauma, mental health, confronting biases addressing racism.

Marcela Ot’alora G., M.F.A, M.A., L.P.C

Marcela is dedicated to the treatment and research of trauma, through art and through the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. She worked as a co-therapist in the first government approved MDMA-assisted psychotherapy study in Madrid, Spain and is the Principal Investigator of the Phase 2 and 3 MDMA-assisted psychotherapy trials in Boulder, Colorado. She received her MA in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University and MFA from University of Greensboro in North Carolina. She was born and raised in Colombia, South America and now lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband Bruce Poulter. She is bilingual in Spanish and English. She will be leading the MDMA therapy training for MAPS.

Michael J. Baime, MD

Michael Baime MD is the Director of the Penn Program for Mindfulness and the Director of Mind-Body Programs for the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He started practicing meditation at the age of 8, taught meditation in a Tibetan Buddhist lineage in the 1980s, and founded the Penn Program for Mindfulness in 1990. Since then the Penn program has trained more than 20,000 individuals in an immersive eight-week mindfulness program. Dr. Baime is widely recognized for his innovative educational programming, his interactive and engaging presentations, and his effective adaptations of traditional meditation techniques to meet the challenges of modern life.

Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, MD

Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, MD is a Board Certified Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist. She is the CEO of Well Minds Psychiatry and Consulting Company. She grew up in the Philadelphia area and now practices in the Boston area. Her clinical interests and expertise revolve around delivery of mental health care to seriously ill children, pregnant and post-partum women and families both locally and globally. She is committed to educating medical and lay communities about trauma, mental health, confronting biases addressing racism. She will discuss wellness techniques as well as ways to confront racial biases.

Rick Doblin, Ph.D. 

Rick is the founder and executive director 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.

NiCole T. Buchanan, Ph.D

Nicole is a Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University and the Clinical Director and Founder of Alliance Psychological Associates, PLLC in East Lansing, MI. She is a trainee of the MAPS MDMA-assisted psychotherapy training for communities of color and anticipates offering MDMA-Assisted psychotherapy when clinical trials are completed. Dr. Buchanan is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, four separate divisions of the American Psychological Association, and has received numerous national and international awards for her research, teaching, clinical work, and professional service. She is an accomplished speaker, writer, and scholar with more than seventy journal articles, book chapters, and research reports, her work has been highlighted in hundreds of media outlets including CBS News, the Huffington Post, and Essence Magazine and she has been a featured speaker for several programs including TEDx and National Public Radio (NPR).

Amanda Feilding

Amanda Feilding, Countess of Wemyss and March, is a British scientist and founding Director of the Beckley Foundation, a UN accredited NGO aimed at reforming drug policy. The Beckley Foundation is dedicated to providing a rigorous, independent review of global drug policy, aiming at reducing the harms associated with both the misuse of drugs and the policies that aim to control them. 

Jessica Katzman, Psy.D.

Dr. Jessica Katzman is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years of experience as a therapist. She was trained at California Institute of Integral Studies in both traditional and transpersonal perspectives on healing. She is the co-founder with Dr. Robert Grant of  Healing Realms, a depth-oriented ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP) outpatient private practice that supports those with treatment-resistant mental health concerns, as well as those without major diagnoses who are interested in gaining greater insight into themselves and their connection to life.

She completed advanced training in therapeutic ketamine at both KRIYA Institute and the Orenda Institute.

She has presented at the ASKP and KRIYA Conferences on therapeutic ketamine, and facilitates an ongoing KAP consultation group for medical/mental health professionals. In her private practice, she specializes in integrating psychedelic experiences, supporting the LGBTQQIAAP communities, treating substance use from a harm reduction perspective, addressing body image concerns from a Health at Every Size lens, mood/anxiety disorders, social justice conversations, and navigating non-traditional relationships and sexuality.

Aubrey Howard

Aubrey Howard finds expression as Transformational Breath Facilitator and identifies as queer woman of color who believes in the natural healing power of the self through yoga, mediation, breath work and connection to spirit. She feels that at the heart of practice is the art of acceptance, stillness and surrender. Her own challenges with anxiety and depression prompted her to look further at the mind and how it's influence affects our physical bodies and the way we move throughout the world; especially in communities of marginalized people. It wasn’t long before Aubrey realized that an exploration of mind, spirit, consciousness and human potential was beckoning her. Aubrey remains focused on health and wellbeing as she integrates shamanic healing with ancient wisdom to deliver exceptional perspective, skill and compassion to her students.

Medium Cindy Kaza

Cindy Kaza is an internationally recognized medium. Cindy has been extremely intuitive since very early childhood. In her early 20’s she realized she was having psychic and mediumistic experiences all along. During this “awakening” she began searching for answers and reasons for her experiences and became aware of her multi-faceted abilities as a psychic medium. She began training not only in the United States but also at the Arthur Findlay School of Intuitive Sciences in Stansted, England. She believes in compassionately sharing her gift with others while also opening up others to the gifts they too possess and that everyone is inherently intuitive and able to feel Spirit! Cindy is currently studying to become a psychedelic therapist.

Jeffrey Guss, MD

Jeff is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. He is Co-Principal Investigator and Director of Psychedelic Psychotherapy for the NYU Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Research Project. He has recently published on the topics of gender and sexuality in Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society and Studies in Gender and Sexuality. Dr. Guss maintains a private practice of psychiatry in New York City, specializing in psychotherapy as well as the outpatient treatment of addictive disorders.

Robin A. Hall

Robin A. Hall, BA, is the Operations Manager for the Penn Center for Mindfulness program as well as an Instructor. Robin developed, coordinates and facilitates programs for the People of Color Initiative that was created to make mindfulness programming more relevant and accessible to that audience.

Jared Chiang-Zeizel

Jared is a published author, award-winning writer, lucid dreaming expert, and filmmaker. He has been interested in lucid dreaming since adolescence.

In 2011, he started working with lucid dreaming enthusiasts, Dylan Tuccillo and Thomas Peisel. Over the next two years they scoured any and all sources on lucid dreaming. They used themselves as guinea pigs and tested out every lucid dreaming technique they came across. Their goal to write a book with the most efficient and clear cut methods to have a lucid dream. An attempt to remove any new-age nonsense and heady academic verbiage, so that anyone could pick up their book and learn how to lucid dream. 

In 2013, A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming, was released by Workman Publishing. Upon its release, the book was an indie bestseller. It is currently available in 11 languages. Jared has been featured on NPR, Vice.com, Elle Magazine, Oprah.com, Gaia (GaiamTV), and numerous other media outlets. He has contributed work to Men's Fitness, Huffington Post, and Tricycle Magazine. He currently works as a lucid dreaming teacher, dream consultant, and freelance writer.

Philip Gehrman, PhD

Dr. Gehrman is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and a clinical psychologist at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.  He directs the Sleep, Neurobiology and Psychopathology lab at Penn.  He has an active research program exploring the mechanisms and treatment of sleep and circadian dysregulation in the context of mental health disorders.  Dr. Gehrman’s clinical specialization is on the delivery of cognitive behavioral and chronotherapeutic interventions for insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, and other sleep disorders.  The overarching goal of his work is to advance the understanding of the links between sleep and mental illness through translational research that spans biology to therapeutics.

Joseph McCowan, Psy.D

Joseph McCowan, Psy.D is a licensed clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, currently working in Los Angeles as a co-therapist in the MAPS sponsored phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD. He is an alumni of MAPS August 2019 MDMA Therapy Training for Communities of Color.  Joseph is deeply passionate about furthering education and awareness of the healing benefits of psychedelics for communities of color and in working to improve mental health outcomes for historically underserved communities. He can be reached at drjmccowan@gmail.com

Adele Lafrance, PhD

Adele is a clinical psychologist, research scientist, and author. A frequent speaker at professional conferences, Adele has published extensively in the field of emotion and health, including a clinical manual and expert training video published by the American Psychological Association. She is active in the research and practice of psychedelic medicine, with a focus on ayahuasca, MDMA, and psilocybin. Currently, Adele is the clinical investigator and strategy lead for the MAPS-sponsored MDMA-assisted psychotherapy study for eating disorders and a collaborator on the Imperial College study for psilocybin and anorexia nervosa. She is also co-developer of Emotion-Focused Ketamine-assisted Psychotherapy. Adele has a particular interest in mechanisms and models of healing, including spirituality, emotion processing, and the application of psychedelic medicine in the context of family work.

Fèini Yĭn

Fèini, (they/them), is a Philadelphia-based journalist and community organizer working at the intersection of science, health, technology, and social justice. They currently work with the Creative Resilience Collective, which uses art, design, research, technology, storytelling, and legal aid to to improve access to self-determined mental health care in Philadelphia. They also work with Free Radicals, an activist collective dedicated to creating more socially just, equitable, and accountable science, as well as for the SoundMind Center.

Kyle Buller

Kyle earned his B.A. in Transpersonal Psychology, where he studied the healing potential of non-ordinary states of consciousness by exploring shamanism, plant medicine, Holotropic Breathwork, and the roots/benefits of psychedelic psychotherapy. Kyle has co-taught two college-level courses. One of the courses Kyle created as a capstone project, “Stanislav Grof’s Psychology of Extraordinary Experiences,” and the other one which he co-created, “The History of Psychedelics.”

Kyle completed his M.S. in clinical mental health counseling with an emphasis in somatic psychology. Kyle’s clinical background in mental health consists of working with at-risk teenagers in crisis and with individuals experiencing an early-episode of psychosis. Kyle also facilitates Transpersonal Breathwork workshops. He is also a Co-Founder of the organization Psychedelics Today.

Ian Sims

Ian Sims is a musician, yogi and meditation teacher who conducts Soundbath Meditations. Through these healing sessions, Ian creates a sonic environment to support physical restoration, mental balance, and spiritual development. He leads these meditations in both group and private settings as a member of ENO∞ONU, a collective that provides sustainable tools for healing with the Artist healer as the facilitator. In addition to his Soundbath Meditations, he regularly produces and performs his own music under the moniker Run Child Run. He released his second album, Peace Process in August 2019.

Kwasi Adusei

Kwasi Adusei is a psychiatric doctor of nursing practice and the founder of the Psychedelic Society of Western New York. While managing the Psychedelic Society, he led the development of the Sanctuary Project, a grassroots psychedelic harm reduction program modeled after the Zendo Project. Additionally, he organized events like the Global Psychedelic Month of Service and the Global Psychedelic Earth Day Cleanup. He is also on the Psychedelics Today advisory board and a trainee in the MAPS MDMA-assisted psychotherapy training for people of color.

Miles Bukiet

Miles Bukiet, MSC, is a meditation teacher with a passion for interpersonal meditation as a way to increase emotional intelligence, and build coherence and psychological safety in individuals, teams, and families. He received his Masters of Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania where he focused his studies on the intersection of meditation and modern science. His many years of training includes two years at monasteries and practice centers in Asia, two years of solitary retreat under the guidance of Alan Wallace, PhD and Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, and one year studying with Soryu Forall at the Monastic Academy in Lowell, Vermont. Bukiet creates programing to fit the needs of unique populations by drawing from various rich traditions

Harold Roth

Harold Roth is Professor of Religious Studies and the Director of the Contemplative Studies Initiative at Brown University. Roth is a specialist in Classical Chinese Religious Thought, Classical Daoism, the comparative study of contemplative practices and experiences and a pioneer of the academic field of Contemplative Studies. 

Leah Weiss

Leah Weiss PhD, MSW, is a researcher, speaker, professor, consultant, and author. She created the perennially waitlisted course “Leading with Mindfulness and Compassion” at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She is also a principal teacher and a founding faculty member of Stanford’s Compassion Cultivation Program, conceived by the Dalai Lama. In 2019, she co-founded Skylyte, a company that specializes in using the latest neuroscience and behavior change to empower high-performing leaders and managers to prevent burnout for themselves and their teams.

Sarah Cohen, MD

Sarah Cohen, MD is an Internal Medicine physician and clinical herbalist, who is dedicated to best practices in health care. She is the Founder of Resource Medical Center, a Philadelphia -based clinic offering comprehensive Integrative Medicine consultations and Medical Cannabis evaluations. She completed a hospital-based Internal Medicine training with the Thomas Jefferson University Health System in Philadelphia, PA., and a Fellowship at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine in Tucson, AZ. In continuation with her lifelong awe and study of botanical medicine, Dr. Cohen is a forever learner of cultivation, identification, pharmacologic extraction and clinical application of medicinal plants and fungi. Dr. Cohen observes that it is at the meeting place of time-honored healing wisdom and modern science where medicine is most marvelous and effective.

Kufikiri Hiari Imara

Kufikiri Hiari Imara was born and raised in Oakland, California. He grew up in an Oakland very different than the one we see today; it was an Oakland with a broader and more embodied sense of community. He grew up the youngest in a household with parents who are both Bay Area natives, both of them born in San Francisco. In addition, both his parents, growing up, were active in the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements of San Francisco of the 1960s & 70s. So, he grew up in a home and a community environment that strongly emphasized social awareness and social responsibility. Play that forward to an older, wiser individual who unfolded his path through a love of the arts, and his own personal healing spiritual journey. That path led him to volunteer to work with Green Earth Poets Society, bringing poetry to incarcerated African-American youth. He is one of the early members of the Entheogen Integration Circle, a support group in NYC with a focus on marginalized communities within the psychedelic community. He is currently involved with the Sacred Garden Community’s facilitators workshop to deepen his work as a ceremonial facilitator working with ethnically diverse communities. One of the reasons he got involved with the Decriminalize Nature Oakland (DNO) initiative is access. And, as head of the DNO committee focused on Outreach, Education, & Access, he wants to see broad access when it comes to the opportunity to profoundly change one’s life for the better through working with entheogens. Paying special attention to Oakland’s ethnically diverse and marginalized communities, he is actively working with individuals and organizations doing the work in these communities for a better tomorrow. He stays actively engaged with the offices of Oakland City Council members to see a better Oakland for all. Access has always been his message, and was the focus of his talk when he spoke at the CIIS/Chacruna Symposium, Cultural and Political Perspectives on Psychedelic Science, in August of 2018 in San Francisco. He also gave a talk hosted by the San Francisco Psychedelic Society, in March of 2019. He continues to work towards accessible choices for ethnically diverse and marginalized communities in their quest to heal themselves.

Hannah McLane, MD, MA, MPH

Dr. Hannah McLane is a physician, psychoanalyst, and entrepreneur. She is the Founder of SoundMind, a Philadelphia and Oregon-based psychedelic facilitator training and research initiative aimed at bringing ethics, equity, and innovation to the psychedelic ecosystem. Dr. McLane identifies as queer, white, able-bodied, and neurodiverse. She grew up in rural New Hampshire and spent several years in South America and East Asia.

Dr. McLane conducts research on cognitive diversity, psychedelic science, ethics, PTSD, and emerging alternative therapies for mental health issues. She is the clinical director of the SoundMind Center, the first psychedelic therapy center in the Philadelphia region, and training director for retreat offerings in Philadelphia, Oregon, and Costa Rica.

She attended McGill University and holds graduate degrees from Temple University (MA, Communication Sciences, Spanish Language), Brown University (MD, Doctor of Medicine, Contemplative Studies Concentration), and Harvard School of Public Health (MPH, Global health and Bioethics). She attended residencies in neurology and Occupational and Environmental medicine (University of Pennsylvania) and completed a fellowship in Patient Safety at the VA Hospital in Philadelphia. She also completed a 5-year psychoanalytic training program and considers herself a relational psychoanalyst.