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
Our mission is to expand compassionate crisis support — including care for non-ordinary psychological and emotional states — through training, peer-based services, and research across communities and systems of care.
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 Blake 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...
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...
Jessa Hurst
Marketing 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....
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...
Stephen Bagley
Director of Development
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...
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...
Paige Riley
Programs Associate
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...
Chelsea Rose Blake 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...
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...
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...
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...
Hanifa Washington
Board Secretary
Hanifa Nayo Washington (she/her) is a healing justice practitioner, award-winning artivist, communications strategist, and certified psychedelic facilitator whose work sits at the intersection of mindfulness, collective care, and transformational systems change, grounded in the values of beloved community. With more...
Sara Gael, M.A., LPC
Risk Reduction Specialist
Sara Gael is a psychedelic therapist and facilitator with a Master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University. She is the founder of Psychedelic Stewardship, an education platform supporting responsible engagement with psychedelics and lasting transformation. She spent 10 years...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Nima Veiseh
Chief Technology Officer
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,...
Raymond Allen
Legal Counsel
Raymond Allen serves as Outside General Counsel to Zendo Project, providing strategic legal guidance on nonprofit, governance, contracts, intellectual property, employment matters, regulatory compliance, operational issues and risk management. Ray brings more than two decades of legal and business experience,...
Ele Jones
JEDI Consultant & Curriculum Development, Community Council
Ele (they/them) is an educator, ceremonialist, and artist dedicated to supporting creativity, healing, and anti-oppression work within individuals and communities. After nearly a decade of living nomadically and working in ceremonial spaces with entheogenic medicines, they found their way to...
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...
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,...
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...
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....
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.
After doing psychedelics the night before, I felt I needed to talk to someone about what was happening in my head. My friend was sleeping so I knew that people at the Zendo would be able to help out. All I wanted was to talk to someone that could listen. I found that at Zendo. Thank you. This has been an important part of my journey at Burning Man.