Meet Zendo Project
Zendo Project was founded by mental health professionals and is supported by a team of volunteers that includes doctors, psychedelic therapists, nurses, social workers, healing facilitators, and harm reduction experts.
Our Mission
Zendo Project offers professional harm reduction education to communities and organizations, and provides peer support services at events to help transform difficult psychedelic experiences – and other complex emotions – into opportunities for learning and growth.
Our Vision
We envision a world where communities are educated, resourced, and engaged in applying harm reduction principles to support individuals exploring psychedelic states; recognizing that challenging experiences can be opportunities for self-exploration and healing.
Zendo Project’s 4 Principles
of Psychedelic Care
Safe Space
Tending to safety is foundational to healing and transformation.
Sitting, Not Guiding
Cultivating presence while letting go of an agenda honors the individual’s inner healing intelligence.
Through, Not Down
We accompany people through their experiences, without seeking to halt or bypass the process.
Difficult Is Not Necessarily Bad
We remain open to the possibility that difficult and/or complex experiences can lead to wisdom, growth, and new understandings.
Our Team
Staff
Board
Professional Services Contributors
Advisors and Volunteer Contributors
Chelsea Rose Pires, M.A., LMFT
Executive Director
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...
Laila Murfin, LPCC, LPC
Deputy Director
Laila (she/they) graduated from The Evergreen State College with a BA in Liberal Arts focused in Consciousness Studies. She received her Masters in Somatic Counseling Psychology with a dual concentration in Dance/Movement Therapy & Body Psychotherapy from Naropa University. During her training, she focused on program management for mental health...
Jessa Hurst
Programs Director
Jessa (she/her) has been on a lifelong journey of seeking and supporting transformation. Her experience with serious childhood illness sparked a search for wellness that revealed healing is not only physical but also deeply tied to mental and emotional resilience. Her path led her to study Pre-Med at Virginia Tech...
Veena Muthusamy-Flok, MBA
Director of Education
Veena Muthusamy-Flok, (she/her) holds a B.A. in Public Policy and Geography from Syracuse University and an MBA in Sustainable Systems from Presidio Graduate School. She comes from a long line of Indian farmers, and her early connection to land and community has always guided her path. Veena spent several years...
Jess Aumick
Digital Operations & Systems Manager
Jess (she/her) is passionate about demystifying substances and reforming drug policy. As an undergraduate she spearheaded the formation of the Rutgers Psychedelic Society, a student organization dedicated to providing on-campus education, stigma-free support, and opportunities for students to find community in the psychedelic world. Jess received her B.A. in History...
Paige Riley
Executive Assistant to the Executive Team
Paige (she/her) is an active member of the psychedelic science and mental health community with a passion for decolonized and alternative approaches to healing and therapy. She received her BS.c in Neuroscience from Colorado State University in 2021 and was a Research Chemist for several years before pursuing her Master’s...
Tyler Norris, MDiv
Board Chair
Tyler Norris, MDiv (he/him) is a social entrepreneur and trusted advisor to philanthropies, partnerships and government agencies working to improve the well-being of people and place. For over four decades, he has shaped health and development initiatives in hundreds of communities in the U.S. and around the world and built...
Stephen Bagley
Board Secretary
Steve (he/him) comes to the Zendo Project Board with a decade of experience in psychedelic harm reduction. In 2012, he began organizing and running psychedelic harm reduction services at festivals in Northern California. Since joining Zendo Project in 2017, he has supervised harm reduction teams at numerous events in the...
Armando León, MD
Board Treasurer
Armando (he/him) completed his undergraduate studies in Biology at Swarthmore College and completed medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, followed by residency training in psychiatry at San Mateo County’s community mental health program. He currently works as an emergency psychiatrist at a hospital, as well in private...
Mia Bronner
Board Member
Mia Bronner is an artist, activist, and student of traditional medicines. She is a graduate of the AWE Psychedelic Therapist Training. Mia works at Dr. Bronner’s as Senior Manager of the Magic Foam Experience, a team of amazing artists, builders and performers producing community events to spread love & joy...
Ben Halper, LNMF
Event Services Manager
Ben Halper is the Event Services Manager for Zendo Project and Owner/Facilitator of Lighthouse Psychedelics. He is a Licensed Natural Medicine Facilitator in the state of Colorado, having obtained this licensure through the accelerated pathway for legacy healers. In his other professional capacities he works as a consultant in the...
Desiree Lopez, SHRM-CP
Operations Specialist
Desiree (she/her) is a HR / Operational focused professional who has over 6+ years of experience within both nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Prior to joining the Zendo Team, she served as the People and Operations Manager at Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies ("MAPS") for over 3 years. Growing up around...
Case Newsom, DO
Medical Director
Case Newsom, DO (he/him) is a practicing emergency medicine physician and EMS medical director with a specialization in event medical care who lives and works in Denver, Colorado. He is medical director for Stadium Medical, the state’s leading special event prehospital agency, and has spent several years working as an...
Allison Rees (aka Allykat), M.A., AMFT
Pulse Program Manager
Allison, or Allykat (she/they) has been dedicated to Zendo Project since 2015. She holds a BS in Health Communication from San Diego State University (2015) and a master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute (2023). Since the Pulse team’s inception in 2023, Allykat’s focus has been on implementing...
Imane El Ghazouani
Education & Marketing Coordinator
Imane (she/her) is an active community builder and creates safe spaces for self-exploration through her collaborative immersive sound experiences. Through her own self-discovery journey and her personal interest in mind-related sciences, she believes that having strong community support is crucial to individual and collective healing. After she volunteered with the...
Simone Weit, LPCC
Lead Curriculum Designer & Strategic Advisor
Simone is an educator in the psychedelic field as well as a therapist working in a private ketamine therapy practice. Simone has worked as a supervisor for the Zendo Project and has training in Psychedelic Assisted Therapy through the Polaris Insight Center, MAPS MDMA Therapy Training, Synthesis Psychedelic Practitioner Training...
Timothy Crespi, LPC, CADC
Lead Curriculum Designer & Strategic Advisor
Timothy has been aspiring to work in the psychedelic field since he was 15 years old when as a teen struggling with depression he had the opportunity to try LSD. Later on, in his 20’s he spent 8 years obtaining 3 degrees at Naropa University in Contemplative Psychology, Environmental Studies,...
Ryan Riley
Event Construction Lead
Ryan (he/him) has been an enthusiastic member of Zendo build team since 2022 and worked as a Build Lead since 2023. With 29 years in the construction trades and 21 years as a licensed contractor he realizes the importance of creating a safe space for festival goers experiencing overwhelm. Having...
Sara Gael Beauregard, M.A., LPC
Risk Reduction Specialist
Sara Gael Beauregard MA, LPC is a psychedelic therapist and risk reduction specialist. She holds an MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University, where she co-founded the Naropa Alliance for Psychedelic Studies (NAPS). Sara served as the Director of MAPS Harm Reduction program, the Zendo Project, from 2016-2020. She...
Ele Jones
JEDI Consultant & Curriculum Development
Ele (they/them) is an educator, ceremonialist, and artist who is passionate about supporting creativity, healing, and anti-oppression work within individuals and communities. After almost a decade of living nomadically and working in ceremonial spaces with entheogenic medicines, they found their way to the magic of psychedelic peer support. With a...
Nima Veiseh
Zendo Lab Lead
Nima Veiseh (he/they) is an economist, technical academic researcher & TED Speaker. He is passionate about the healing opportunities of plant medicine, as well as understanding and scaling opportunities of harm-reduction for the public. As a Research Fellow with Zendo, he helps to advise on analytics, data strategy, and technology...
Merete Christiansen
Philanthropy Advisor
Merete (she/her) (pronounced meh-Ray-tah) is passionate about her personal mission of contributing to a more joyful and healed society through creativity, sustainability, education, and compassionate care. Merete provides key strategic vision, coaching, and advising for Zendo Project’s philanthropic strategy. Outside of Zendo Project, Merete works with the Burning Man Philanthropic...
Shirelle Noble
Training and Education Consultant
Shirelle (she/her) is a systems-thinker who brings 15+ years of strategy, marketing, operations, and product management experience to the emerging commercialization era of psychedelics. She co-founded The North Star Project, led a digital transformation at MAPS, including launching Psychedelic Fundamentals, and now is a part of the co-founding team at...
Christian Tanner
Marketing Specialist Volunteer
Meet Christian Tanner! He’s a digital marketer who fell head over heels for advertising, email marketing, and brand strategy over five years ago. A family friend gave him a glimpse into this fascinating world, but his heart didn’t fully catch fire until he found his “why.” Christian realized he wanted...
Amy Emerson
Senior Advisor to the Board
Amy Emerson (she/her) is a respected leader in the field of psychedelic-assisted therapy. She was Lykos Therapeutics (formerly MAPS PBC) CEO for an important period in advancing MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a drug with the FDA. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Genetics and Cell...
Testimonials
Do You Have a Testimonial or Feedback?
Zendo Project is always interested in hearing more from our community about your experiences with our services, volunteering, and our trainings. You can choose whether to share your information or remain anonymous.