Wednesday, February 26th, 2025 from 12:00-1:30pm PST

Join Us for a free special edition of Chacruna’s Community Forums!

We are thrilled to invite you to an inspiring conversation on ethical plant medicine facilitation, justice-informed practices, and integrity in the psychedelic field.

Introducing Chacruna’s Certificate in Ceremony, Ethics & Reciprocity


Be among the first to learn about our groundbreaking new training — an unparalleled educational program designed for ceremonial leaders, psychedelic facilitators, and anyone passionate about ethical psychedelic practices.

Get Ready for Psychedelic Culture 2025!
We’re also gearing up for PCU25, Chacruna’s annual spring conference in the San Francisco Bay Area on March 29-30 — where we’ll dive into cutting-edge themes often overlooked in mainstream psychedelic discussions.

Exclusive Giveaway!
Attend this special forum for a chance to win three full scholarships to Chacruna Courses and a free ticket to PCU25!


Join us for this powerful conversation with an esteemed panel of speakers: Bia Labate, Jamie Beachy, Henrique Antunes, Nidia Olvera, Bruno Gomes, Stephanie Stewart, and Alejandra Barajas.

Dr. Bia Labate (Beatriz Caiuby Labate) is an anthropologist, educator, author, speaker, and activist, committed to the protection of sacred plants while amplifying the voices of marginalized communities in the psychedelic science field. As a queer Brazilian anthropologist based in San Francisco, she has been profoundly influenced by her experiences with ayahuasca since 1996. Dr. Labate has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil. Her work focuses on plant medicines, Indigenous shamanism, ceremony, religion, drug policy, and social justice. She is the Executive Director of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines and serves as a Public Education and Culture Specialist at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Additionally, she is a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and an advisor for the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition. Dr. Labate is also a co-founder of the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP) in Brazil and the editor of its site. She has authored, co-authored, and co-edited 28 books, three special-edition journals, and numerous peer-reviewed and online publications (http://www.bialabate.net).

Jamie Beachy PhD, MDiv, is a professional chaplain, spiritual care educator, and ethics consultant with experience in palliative care, hospice, and trauma care. Jamie was a sub-investigator for MAPS Phase 3 clinical trials researching the safety and efficacy of MDMA-Assisted Therapy for the treatment of PTSD and currently serves as an MDMA-AT Training Consultant Jamie developed degree program offerings and curricula related to psychedelic therapies as Director of Education and Co-founder of Naropa University’s Center for Psychedelic Studies. She is currently Field Scholar with Emory’ University’s Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality. Jamie sits on the Board of Directors of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. She lives in the mountains above Boulder with her husband Wael Garas, an integrative physician.

Dr. Henrique Fernandes Antunes holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of São Paulo (2019) and has conducted research as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley. He earned an M.A. from the same institution in 2012 and a B.A./B.Ed. in social sciences from São Paulo State University (UNESP-FFC) in 2008. His postdoctoral work includes positions at the Centre d’Étude des Mouvements Sociaux (CEMS) at EHESS, the University of Ottawa’s Department of Classics and Religious Studies, and the International Postdoctoral Program at the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP). Dr. Antunes is a member of CEBRAP’s Religion in the Contemporary World research group and is Research Coordinator at the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. He is also a researcher at the Interdisciplinary Group for Psychoactive Studies (NEIP) and a Flourish Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelics. His research delves into the regulation of ayahuasca both in Brazil.

Bruno Ramos Gomes is a Brazilian psychologist, with Master’s degree in Public Health at the School of Public Health-USP, and a PhD in Public Health at University of Campinas, Brazil. In his masters, he researched the use of ayahuasca in the recovery of homeless people and drug users. In his PhD, he did a 12 month qualitative follow-up of patients treating drug dependence and depression. He has been helping patients integrate ibogaine and ayahuasca in their therapeutic processes for the last 15 years. He is a Research Associate at the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines.

Nidia A. Olvera Hernández is a historian and anthropologist. She has a Ph.D. in modern and contemporary history at the Mora Institute in Mexico City. Nidia earned a B.A. in ethnohistory from the National School of Anthropology and History (ENAH) and a M.A. in social anthropology from the Center for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS), in Mexico City. Her main areas of interest are the old and modern history of psychoactive substances and drug policy. She is co-editor with Bia Labate of the book Plantas Sagradas en México: tradición, religión y ritualidad [Sacred Plants in Mexico: Tradition, Religion and Ritual, COLSAN/Chacruna Institute 2023], and author of several peer-reviewed articles. She has worked as the Project Coordinator at the United Nations on a drug treatment program, has experience working at social research consultancies and has been a professor at the Autonomous University of Mexico City and ENAH. She collaborated as the Research Associate at Chacruna Latinoamérica in México. Currently, she is a Postdoctoral Researcher for the project, “Poison, Medicine or Magic Potion. Shifting Perspectives on Drugs in Latin America (1820-2020)” at Radboud University, Netherlands.

Dr. Stephanie Michael Stewart is a holistic psychiatrist who brings a spiritual, environmental, and social justice perspective to her work. After serving as Chief Resident of Psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Stewart led LA County’s West Central Wellness Center where she developed innovative programs for communities of color that integrated evidence-based psychiatric treatments with complementary therapies. She then founded Worldwide Wellness, where she expanded her approach to incorporate travel, immersion in nature, Indigenous wisdom and, more recently, ketamine-assisted therapy. Dr. Stewart is currently developing a psychedelic-assisted therapy training program for psychiatric residents at historically black colleges and universities. Dr. Stewart holds a BS in Biology from Spelman College and an MD from Morehouse School of Medicine. She is member of Chacruna’s Board of Directors. She is of Black, White, and Native American descent.

Alejandra Barajas (she/they/him) received her BA in Studio Art and Journalism from Beloit College. As an undergrad, she explored many topics ranging from art to philosophy to anthropology to journalism. She was a journalist for UP Mag, NY based publication, focused on street art and politics, where she helped give graffiti artists in Chicago a platform to share their voices in an effort to remove the stigma surrounding this underground culture. She holds a certificate in Psychedelic Assisted Therapies from Naropa University. She is Chacruna’s Lead Program Officer. She supports the production of research, books, chronicles, community forums, in-person events and conferences, courses and team’s speaking engagements. Her work helps accessibility for underrepresented communities and promoting indigenous voices. She is currently based in Washington, DC.

Cultivating Integrity in Plant Medicine