Directors and Advisors
We have built a strong board or directors and advisory group comprised of industry expects to ensure we’re focused on our mission and operate with the highest levels of integrity and professionalism.
Board Of Directors
Jason Burdge
President of the Board, End Of Life Psychedelic Care
Jason has over 18 years of non-profit leadership experience with a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Administration. His leadership focus has been on increasing mental health services to underserved communities. Jason is an advocate for foster youth and military veterans to receive services that help them live full and productive lives.
Jason is the co-founder of the Psilocybin Assisted Therapy Association and is passionate about expanding psychedelic mental health care to those dealing with end-of-life challenges. Additionally, he’s changed legislature in Oregon to allow Equine Assisted Physical Therapy to be covered by OHP and hopes to take the same measurers to enable insurance reimbursement for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy to broaden access and affordability.
Jason has over 18 years of non-profit leadership experience with a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Administration. His leadership focus has been on increasing mental health services to underserved communities. Jason is an advocate for foster youth and military veterans to receive services that help them live full and productive lives.
Jason is the co-founder of the Psilocybin Assisted Therapy Association and is passionate about expanding psychedelic mental health care to those dealing with end-of-life challenges. Additionally, he’s changed legislature in Oregon to allow Equine Assisted Physical Therapy to be covered by OHP and hopes to take the same measurers to enable insurance reimbursement for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy to broaden access and affordability.
Amy Samuelson
Treasurer of the Board
Amy serves on the Board of the Psanctuary Church as Treasurer and is a Certified Cleric and More Than Integration Coach for Psanctuary. Psanctuary’s vision is to live in a world with supportive and joyful communities, empowered to discover our own divinity with sacred mushrooms and each other. You can find more infor mation about Psanctuary at https://www.psanctuary.org/.
Amy spent 20 years in the financial services sector, with roles across Finance, Administration and Operations, leading and supporting transformational programs. In 2020, Amy left her career to focus on her mental and physical health. Entheogens played a major role in her healing and reconnected her spiritually. She is passionate about enabling access and community support to help others on their path.
Amy serves on the Board of the Psanctuary Church as Treasurer and is a Certified Cleric and More Than Integration Coach for Psanctuary. Psanctuary’s vision is to live in a world with supportive and joyful communities, empowered to discover our own divinity with sacred mushrooms and each other. You can find more infor mation about Psanctuary at https://www.psanctuary.org/.
Amy spent 20 years in the financial services sector, with roles across Finance, Administration and Operations, leading and supporting transformational programs. In 2020, Amy left her career to focus on her mental and physical health. Entheogens played a major role in her healing and reconnected her spiritually. She is passionate about enabling access and community support to help others on their path.
Marsha Daniels
Secretary of the Board
Marsha spent 15 years working in the nonprofit sector in various capacities as Director of Operations and Event Planning and Management for organizations including the Susan B. Komen for the Cure Foundation and the California Pacific Medical Center Foundation. Prior to that, she held senior executive positions in the property development industry, including Dillingham, a multi-billion corporation responsible for many of the iconic buildings in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge retrofit project, and several US Embassies around the globe.
Currently, Marsha is enjoying retirement in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Marsha spent 15 years working in the nonprofit sector in various capacities as Director of Operations and Event Planning and Management for organizations including the Susan B. Komen for the Cure Foundation and the California Pacific Medical Center Foundation. Prior to that, she held senior executive positions in the property development industry, including Dillingham, a multi-billion corporation responsible for many of the iconic buildings in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge retrofit project, and several US Embassies around the globe.
Currently, Marsha is enjoying retirement in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Catherine Durkin Robinson
Member of the Board
Catherine Durkin Robinson is a death doula and educator with Anitya Doula Services. She graduated from the University of Vermont’s End-of-Life Doula program and is NEDA- proficient at National End-of-Life Doula Alliance. She was also a longtime hospice-trained volunteer before relocating to Chicago in July 2022.
Her varied career includes 30 years as a political organizer, 10 years as a high school and college educator, and 10 years as a newspaper columnist in Tampa. You can find her at www.anityadoulaservices.org.
Catherine Durkin Robinson is a death doula and educator with Anitya Doula Services. She graduated from the University of Vermont’s End-of-Life Doula program and is NEDA- proficient at National End-of-Life Doula Alliance. She was also a longtime hospice-trained volunteer before relocating to Chicago in July 2022.
Her varied career includes 30 years as a political organizer, 10 years as a high school and college educator, and 10 years as a newspaper columnist in Tampa. You can find her at www.anityadoulaservices.org.
Christine Caldwell
Founder EOLPC, Psychedelics Advocate and Educator
My experience owning a 250-client home health agency taught me a lot about how people age and die in our society. I knew then that our home health care aides worked to the best of their ability to stave off loneliness, depression and anxiety over the fear of dying, but often their compassionate care was not enough.
Fast forward to three years ago when I began to study the benefits of psychedelic care. I was drawn to the research using psilocybin in cancer patients that showed significant reductions in anxiety and depression while also helping participants accept their death and dying with peace and equanimity. Along the way, I dove into the benefits of Ketamine and MDMA, as well, and realized that bringing safe, psychedelic care to those with life-threatening or terminal illnesses would become my life’s work.
As a result, I founded the nonprofit, End of Life Psychedelic Care, to educate and provide patients with access to compassionate care and support during the end-of-life process. We believe that psychedelic-assisted care can play a pivotal role in easing anxiety, depression, as well as the emotional and spiritual challenges that often accompany a life-threatening or terminal illness.
Highlights from My Background
- Member, Dying Well Initiation/Global Wellness Institute
- Certificate of Completion, Psychedelics Today Vital Training Program, 3/23
- Enrolled in Dr. Rosalind Watts’ ACER (Accept, Connect, Embody, Restore) Integration Program, completion, October 2023
- Manager, End-of-Life Programs, Diaspora Psychedelic Society, Treasure Beach, Jamaica
- Certified Deepak Chopra Total Well-being Coach, Meditation and Health Instructor
- Owner and Administrator for a 250-client Home Health Agency in Florida
My experience owning a 250-client home health agency taught me a lot about how people age and die in our society. I knew then that our home health care aides worked to the best of their ability to stave off loneliness, depression and anxiety over the fear of dying, but often their compassionate care was not enough.
Fast forward to three years ago when I began to study the benefits of psychedelic care. I was drawn to the research using psilocybin in cancer patients that showed significant reductions in anxiety and depression while also helping participants accept their death and dying with peace and equanimity. Along the way, I dove into the benefits of Ketamine and MDMA, as well, and realized that bringing safe, psychedelic care to those with life-threatening or terminal illnesses would become my life’s work.
As a result, I founded the nonprofit, End of Life Psychedelic Care, to educate and provide patients with access to compassionate care and support during the end-of-life process. We believe that psychedelic-assisted care can play a pivotal role in easing anxiety, depression, as well as the emotional and spiritual challenges that often accompany a life-threatening or terminal illness.
Highlights from My Background
- Member, Dying Well Initiation/Global Wellness Institute
- Certificate of Completion, Psychedelics Today Vital Training Program, 3/23
- Enrolled in Dr. Rosalind Watts’ ACER (Accept, Connect, Embody, Restore) Integration Program, completion, October 2023
- Manager, End-of-Life Programs, Diaspora Psychedelic Society, Treasure Beach, Jamaica
- Certified Deepak Chopra Total Well-being Coach, Meditation and Health Instructor
- Owner and Administrator for a 250-client Home Health Agency in Florida
Advisory Board
Stephen N. Xenakis, MD
Advisory Board
Stephen N. Xenakis, MD is a psychiatrist with many years of clinical, academic, and management experience. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1998 at the rank of Brigadier General. Dr. Xenakis has advised the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior Department of Defense officials on military-related psychological health issues. He is actively engaged with Physicians for Human Rights and Human Rights First and is the only retired military general and physician to speak out publicly against torture and the involvement of health care practitioners in torture.
Dr. Xenakis is currently Executive Director, American Psychedelic Practitioners Association (APPA). He also serves on the executive board for the Center of Ethics and Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and is a Co-Founder for Reason for Hope, an advocacy organization for the policy and legal reforms needed to facilitate safe and affordable access to psychedelic medicine and assisted therapies.
Stephen N. Xenakis, MD is a psychiatrist with many years of clinical, academic, and management experience. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1998 at the rank of Brigadier General. Dr. Xenakis has advised the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior Department of Defense officials on military-related psychological health issues. He is actively engaged with Physicians for Human Rights and Human Rights First and is the only retired military general and physician to speak out publicly against torture and the involvement of health care practitioners in torture.
Dr. Xenakis is currently Executive Director, American Psychedelic Practitioners Association (APPA). He also serves on the executive board for the Center of Ethics and Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and is a Co-Founder for Reason for Hope, an advocacy organization for the policy and legal reforms needed to facilitate safe and affordable access to psychedelic medicine and assisted therapies.
Grateful Deb Servetnick, MEd
Advisory Board
Grateful Deb is a Certified Transformational Coach, psychedelic guide, and international conference speaker. For more than forty years she has taught massage and bodywork, specializing in fertility and recovery from life threatening illness.
In the 1980s Deborah provided loving touch as a bodyworker and breathworker in San Francisco and Philadelphia for people with AIDS; often easing a transition from this life. She became an ordained minister in 1989 to continue working with her clients when they were hospitalized. The Grateful Dead and psychedelics have inspired her to live a life she loves – a life of authenticity, joy, vibrant color, community, creativity, and kindness – as she guides people in their transformation.
In 2012 Deborah was a participant in the Johns Hopkins University Psilocybin Cancer Study; that reconnected her with the transformative power of entheogenic substances
Grateful Deb is the Founder and Director of ServeMedicine, a 501c3 nonprofit on a mission to provide 1000 facilitated psychedelic journeys annually for people with life-threatening or end-of-life diagnoses. To donate a facilitated journey or to apply for one, visit www.ServeMedicine.org
Deborah is a graduate of the Naropa University, MAPS Psychedelic Assisted Therapies Certificate Program, and is a PRATI certified Ketamine facilitator. Additionally, Grateful Deb is an International Best Selling Author: Short, Sweet and Sacred, 2021. You can reach her at deb@gratefuldeb.com
Grateful Deb is a Certified Transformational Coach, psychedelic guide, and international conference speaker. For more than forty years she has taught massage and bodywork, specializing in fertility and recovery from life threatening illness.
In the 1980s Deborah provided loving touch as a bodyworker and breathworker in San Francisco and Philadelphia for people with AIDS; often easing a transition from this life. She became an ordained minister in 1989 to continue working with her clients when they were hospitalized. The Grateful Dead and psychedelics have inspired her to live a life she loves – a life of authenticity, joy, vibrant color, community, creativity, and kindness – as she guides people in their transformation.
In 2012 Deborah was a participant in the Johns Hopkins University Psilocybin Cancer Study; that reconnected her with the transformative power of entheogenic substances
Grateful Deb is the Founder and Director of ServeMedicine, a 501c3 nonprofit on a mission to provide 1000 facilitated psychedelic journeys annually for people with life-threatening or end-of-life diagnoses. To donate a facilitated journey or to apply for one, visit www.ServeMedicine.org
Deborah is a graduate of the Naropa University, MAPS Psychedelic Assisted Therapies Certificate Program, and is a PRATI certified Ketamine facilitator. Additionally, Grateful Deb is an International Best Selling Author: Short, Sweet and Sacred, 2021. You can reach her at deb@gratefuldeb.com
Keith Fiveson, MDiv
Advisory Board
Keith Fiveson is a Mindfulness-Based Contemplative Therapist, Integrative Health and Wellness Coach, and founder of The Work Mindfulness Institute. He also serves as the Spiritual Director of Mettatouch.org. With a background as an Army Veteran and two-time cancer survivor, Keith advocates for Integrated Health and Wellness programs. With over three decades of experience since his wellness journey in 1992, Keith brings wisdom to his practice.
Keith is also an IPI/MAPS-certified/trained psychedelic-assisted therapy provider (PATP), offering preparation, guidance, integration, and coaching for individuals exploring this healing modality.
In addition to his therapeutic practice, Keith has a successful career in communications, consulting, and coaching Fortune 100 companies and executives. Known for his compassionate and wise approach, Keith continues to touch lives with loving-kindness.
As an entrepreneur, speaker, and author of “The Mindfulness Experience: 8 Strategies to Live Life Now,” Keith combines esoteric knowledge with practical skills, providing a unique approach that resonates with his clients. Find his book on platforms like Amazon, Apple, and Google.
Keith Fiveson is a Mindfulness-Based Contemplative Therapist, Integrative Health and Wellness Coach, and founder of The Work Mindfulness Institute. He also serves as the Spiritual Director of Mettatouch.org. With a background as an Army Veteran and two-time cancer survivor, Keith advocates for Integrated Health and Wellness programs. With over three decades of experience since his wellness journey in 1992, Keith brings wisdom to his practice.
Keith is also an IPI/MAPS-certified/trained psychedelic-assisted therapy provider (PATP), offering preparation, guidance, integration, and coaching for individuals exploring this healing modality.
In addition to his therapeutic practice, Keith has a successful career in communications, consulting, and coaching Fortune 100 companies and executives. Known for his compassionate and wise approach, Keith continues to touch lives with loving-kindness.
As an entrepreneur, speaker, and author of “The Mindfulness Experience: 8 Strategies to Live Life Now,” Keith combines esoteric knowledge with practical skills, providing a unique approach that resonates with his clients. Find his book on platforms like Amazon, Apple, and Google.
Lisa Ritter, LCSW
Advisory Board
Lisa is an Oregon licensed therapist working in private practice, specializing in helping people with anxiety, depression, trauma, eating disorders, and those who have used a psychedelic like psilocybin to address a mental health concern. In addition to her work as a therapist, she is cofounder and clinical director of the Psilocybin Assisted Therapy Association (www.PATA-us.org), a non-profit helping the public, therapy professionals, and anyone involved in or curious about Oregon Psilocybin Services to understand and explore adult use of psilocybin for healing and recovery.
Her work with PATA has included publishing educational materials, teaching webinars, and starting 2023 conference presentations on the use of psilocybin-assisted therapy. For more information, visit https://www.pata-us.org
Lisa is an Oregon licensed therapist working in private practice, specializing in helping people with anxiety, depression, trauma, eating disorders, and those who have used a psychedelic like psilocybin to address a mental health concern. In addition to her work as a therapist, she is cofounder and clinical director of the Psilocybin Assisted Therapy Association (www.PATA-us.org), a non-profit helping the public, therapy professionals, and anyone involved in or curious about Oregon Psilocybin Services to understand and explore adult use of psilocybin for healing and recovery.
Her work with PATA has included publishing educational materials, teaching webinars, and starting 2023 conference presentations on the use of psilocybin-assisted therapy. For more information, visit https://www.pata-us.org
Stuart Sovatsky, PhD
Advisory Board
Stuart is degreed in Religion from Princeton where he did earliest lab research on dmt, was first in the US to bring yoga to incarcerated youth & to the homeless mentally-ill in the mid-1970s, director of the first spiritual emergence service and his Admiration Therapy was certified by the Russian Government He was founding-consultant for the $34million award-winning sustainable GreencityLofts and co-convened a 40-country World Spirituality Conference in India cosponsored by The Office of The Dalai Lama.
Author of Advanced Spiritual Intimacy [on coentheogenesis] and Words From The Soul [on suicidal-homicidal-relational hopelessness] chantmaster with San Francisco band, Axis Mundi and has chanted with South African Sangoma shamans. He was co-president of the US Association for Transpersonal Psychology for 16 years and served as Faculty and Trustee Board Member for the California Insitute of Integral Studies.
More information can be found at: https://princeton.academia.edu/StuartSovatsky and https://www.stuartsovatsky.com/.
Stuart is degreed in Religion from Princeton where he did earliest lab research on dmt, was first in the US to bring yoga to incarcerated youth & to the homeless mentally-ill in the mid-1970s, director of the first spiritual emergence service and his Admiration Therapy was certified by the Russian Government He was founding-consultant for the $34million award-winning sustainable GreencityLofts and co-convened a 40-country World Spirituality Conference in India cosponsored by The Office of The Dalai Lama.
Author of Advanced Spiritual Intimacy [on coentheogenesis] and Words From The Soul [on suicidal-homicidal-relational hopelessness] chantmaster with San Francisco band, Axis Mundi and has chanted with South African Sangoma shamans. He was co-president of the US Association for Transpersonal Psychology for 16 years and served as Faculty and Trustee Board Member for the California Insitute of Integral Studies.
More information can be found at: https://princeton.academia.edu/StuartSovatsky and https://www.stuartsovatsky.com/.
Michael Kydd
Advisory Board
As Founder, Kydder Group Inc. and Senior Regulatory Communications Specialist, Michael has brought extensive regulatory communications experience to professional sports, gaming, politics, government, digital health technology, and the cannabis and psychedelic sectors.
Stemming from a deep and very personal journey after losing his parents to palliative illnesses at a young age, Michael has committed himself to working with organizations that provide better quality-of-life outcomes through emergent technologies and medicines, including psychedelic therapies. As a natural relationship-builder, a dedicated mental health advocate, and a 19-year cancer survivor, Michael brings a unique and holistic approach to his work in helping start-ups and small businesses make a bold statement.
Michael currently lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he enjoys watching his two children play hockey, and fishing with his dog, Clem.
As Founder, Kydder Group Inc. and Senior Regulatory Communications Specialist, Michael has brought extensive regulatory communications experience to professional sports, gaming, politics, government, digital health technology, and the cannabis and psychedelic sectors.
Stemming from a deep and very personal journey after losing his parents to palliative illnesses at a young age, Michael has committed himself to working with organizations that provide better quality-of-life outcomes through emergent technologies and medicines, including psychedelic therapies. As a natural relationship-builder, a dedicated mental health advocate, and a 19-year cancer survivor, Michael brings a unique and holistic approach to his work in helping start-ups and small businesses make a bold statement.
Michael currently lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he enjoys watching his two children play hockey, and fishing with his dog, Clem.
