Wednesday, January 22th, 2025 from 12:00-1:30pm PST

Join us for a critical conversation addressing the pressing issues of racism, implicit bias, and microaggressions within the psychedelic field. This forum brings together thought leaders, researchers, and practitioners to explore the intersection of systemic inequities and psychedelic-assisted therapies, aiming to identify actionable strategies for creating a more inclusive, equitable, and culturally competent psychedelic ecosystem. Ignoring issues of racism and bias stagnates progress and limits the transformative potential of psychedelic therapies; this forum calls on the psychedelic community to take collective action to ensure the field evolves with equity, inclusion, and safety at its core. Speakers include Monnica Williams, a clinical psychologist, disparities researcher, diversity instructor, and university educator who is Chacruna’s Racial Equity and Access Advisor, and NiCole T. Buchanan, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University, Clinical Director of Alliance Psychological Associates and part of the Advisory Board of the Chacruna Institute. The discussion will be moderated by Sonya Faber, who holds a Master’s in Neurobiology from Brown University and is member of the Board Directors of the Chacruna Institute.

Monnica T. Williams is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, in the School of Psychology, where she is the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities. She is also Clinical Director of the Behavioral Wellness Clinic. Her research focuses on African American mental health, culture, and psychopathology, and she has published over 100 scientific articles on these topics. Current projects include the assessment of race-based trauma, unacceptable thoughts in OCD, improving cultural competence in the delivery of mental health care services, and interventions to reduce racism. She gives diversity trainings nationally for clinical psychology programs, scientific conferences, and community organizations. She currently is Chair of their Academic Training & Education Standards (ATES). She is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation, and co-founded their Diversity Council. Dr. Williams Chacruna’s Racial Equity and Access Advisor.

NiCole T. Buchanan, PhD, is a professor, psychologist and Interim Board Chair and CEO of the Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies, serves on the Advisory Board of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicine and previously served as Co-Chair of the Inaugural Board of Directors for the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association. Dr. Buchanan trained with MAPS, Polaris Insight Center and the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, four divisions of the American Psychological Association and has received international awards for her contributions to the field. An accomplished writer and scholar, she has 120+ publications focusing on equity and inclusion (in psychedelics, training, and organizations), harassment, organizational climate and professional development. Her work is highlighted in hundreds of media outlets and she is a featured international speaker, including TEDx and National Public Radio.

Dr. Sonya Faber graduated with a Masters in Neurobiology from Brown University after completing her undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania. She continued her graduate studies at New York University earning a PhD in molecular genetics with a thesis concentration in signal transduction. Over the course of the last 15 years, she has had the opportunity and privilege to contribute equally to both academic research institutes and commercial pharmaceutical development. She has worked in clinical operations for companies including, IQVIA, Covance and Sanofi-Aventis. Her interests lie in creating innovative solutions for projects which could benefit both patients and the scientific community, in part by connecting with top scientists, industry and regulatory agencies.In her academic roles, she assessed novel ideas and supported scientists in making these commercially viable while contributing to several original grants and research papers and patents. Her interest in protocol design, medical writing and project management, which she utilized in both pharma and biotech firms, included pre-clinical and clinical activities for phase II and III trials across multiple indications. She has a special interest in training the next generation of clinical researchers and has designed courses to teach scientific writing and Good Clinical Practice. Dr. Faber is member of the Board Directors of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines. Her engagement on Chacruna is on a volunteer basis and is based on her personal interest in the science of psychedelics, which has long been an interest of hers before taking her current position at Angelini Pharma. In the past two years, she has started an international collaboration with researchers at the University of Ottawa in Canada on several projects in the area of mental health disparities and social justice. She also served on the steering committee for the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association.

Racism, implicit bias and microaggressions in psychedelics: A call to action