SACRED PLANT ALLIANCE TEAM
Sacred Plant Alliance has been organized and operated by an incredible collaboration of individuals and communities since its organization in 2020. Currently it is operated by its Board of Directors and corporate officers. Below are profiles of SPA’s officers and employees who are carrying on SPA’s legacy today to further its mission on behalf of its members.
SPA TEAM
Allison Hoots
Executive Director
Allison Hoots is an attorney at Hoots Law Practice PLLC. She has unique experience advising in all areas of the psychedelics space, particularly with respect to the right to religious exercise, for nearly ten years. She is a Member of Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines’ Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants, and is the lead author of Chacruna’s Guide to RFRA & Best Practices for Psychedelic Plant Medicine Churches. Allison is Head Policy Counsel for New Yorkers for Mental Health Alternatives to develop policy creating legal access to psilocybin and working towards drug policy reform in New York State.
Beth Topczewski
Director of Operations; Secretary
Beth Topczewski is a spiritual guide based in Occidental, CA, dedicated to helping individuals attune to the deeper rhythms of spirit and fostering community connections for collective prayer and devotion. Her work is founded on a deep personal path integrating her studies in sacred mushroom and yagé traditions, her initiation as a diviner in the Dagara tradition, and her Catholic faith. With an MA in Somatic Psychology from CIIS, Beth’s approach honors body, mind, and spirit as beautiful pathways to healing and transformation. Her practice creates a compassionate, playful space that supports individuals in coming home to their own hearts.
Brian Anderson
Treasurer
Brian Anderson, MD MSc is a public psychiatrist and researcher in San Francisco, California. For nearly two decades he has learned from, collaborated with, and sought to support communities that safely and responsibly use psychedelics as their sacraments. He speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese. His medical research is focused on improving psychosocial distress in end of life and palliative care patients.
Nicole Ochoa Cohen
Legal and Program Coordinator
Nicole Cohen Ochoa is a California-licensed lawyer and advocate for the responsible, safe, and intentional use of psychedelics and plant medicine. Nicole is dedicated to studying psychedelics and its practices, such as through courses offered by Chacruna Institute of Psychedelic Plant Medicines and the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Nicole worked alongside Andean and Shipibo Conibo Maestros (Shamans) to serve participants at The Healing Tree Center, an Ayahuasca and Huachuma (San Pedro) Retreat Center in the Valle Sagrado of Cusco, Peru, and in honor of her Peruvian culture, where her maternal family was born and raised, has become a citizen of Peru. Since 2022, she has worked as a lawyer to support clients serving sacramental communities.
SPA ADVISORY BOARD
Bob Jesse
Bob Jesse is a guiding force behind the contemporary re-emergence of psychedelics. In the mid-90s, he convened an expert group, the Council on Spiritual Practices, which was instrumental in forming the psilocybin research team at Johns Hopkins. Jesse co-authored that team’s first study (2006) now regarded as landmark, and led the drafting of foundational documents: a Code of Ethics for Spiritual Guides (1995), an amicus brief for the U.S. Supreme Court (2005) in the successful UdV religious liberty case, and a Statement on Open Science (2017). He has served on several boards in the field. Earlier, Jesse trained at Johns Hopkins in electrical engineering and computer science, consulted for AT&T Bell Labs, and worked at Oracle Corp. as a VP of business development. At Bell Labs and at Oracle, his advocacy initiatives led to marked advances for lesbian and gay employees and their families. Now, he continues to advise and collaborate with individuals and groups in the psychedelics field.
Moana Meadow
Moana Meadow serves as Program Staff Director at the Berkeley Psychedelic Facilitation Certificate Program, where she has overseen curriculum development for the past three years. Meadow is trained as an interfaith chaplain and was ordained in 2010 through the Chaplaincy Institute. Over the next ten years, she completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), worked as a hospice chaplain and birth doula, and supported hundreds of individuals and groups through psychedelic experiences. She has trained, mentored, and supervised psychedelic facilitators in various contexts, founded a plant medicine church, and contributed to the early stages of the Sacred Plant Alliance. She has sought learning through a variety of indigenous traditions and communities in both North and South America, and she brings a deep knowledge of healthcare systems, psychedelic healing, and spiritual community to her work.
Sean McAllister
Sean T. McAllister is an attorney specializing in the regulatory, health care, business, and religious freedom aspects of psychedelic medicines and therapies, including ketamine. His work in psychedelics has included: Advising doctors, therapists and licensed professional on psychedelic assisted therapy, including defense of licensure in disciplinary proceedings; Advising clients looking to obtain a religious exemption for the use of psychedelics; Drafter of Colorado’s Proposition 122 Natural Medicine Health Act; Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel; General Counsel for the Zendo Project; Board of Directors for the Chacruna Institute; and outside general counsel to MAPS’ Psychedelic Science Events, LLC. Sean is licensed to practice law in Colorado and California.
Ismail Lourido Ali
Ismail Lourido Ali, JD (he/him or they/them) has been personally utilizing psychedelics and other substances in celebratory and spiritual contexts for over half his life, and has been actively participating in the drug policy reform movement for a decade. As the Director of Policy & Advocacy at the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), Ismail supports the design, building, and implementation of psychedelic policy reform across the country and world. Ismail is licensed to practice law in the state of California and co-founded the Psychedelic Bar Association. Ismail advises, is formally affiliated with, or has served in leadership roles for numerous organizations in the drug policy ecosystem, including Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Chacruna Institute, the Ayahuasca Defense Fund, and Alchemy Community Therapy Center, and recently co-founded the Central California Psychedelic Summit in his hometown of Fresno.
Bia Labate
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, drug policy, shamanism, ritual, religion, 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). She is also a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Additionally, she is an advisor for the Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition and the Sacred Plant Alliance. 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
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