Compassionate Care Backed by Expertise

Sara earned her PhD at Columbia University in medical anthropology and public health, and an MSW at the University of Chicago. Her research sits at the intersection of religion, culture, and healing with an emphasis on non-ordinary states. As a Fulbright scholar, she conducted long term ethnographic research in India, culminating in her book, Spacious Minds: Trauma and Resilience in Tibetan Buddhism, which investigates how Buddhist concepts of mind shape traumatic memory and pathways to resilience. Sara has also published research on ayahuasca and spiritual emergencies. At Naropa University, Sara served as Associate Professor and Chair of Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology. She co-founded the Naropa Center for Psychedelic Studies and has trained upwards of 400 students in providing psychedelic-assisted therapy. She is the director of the Memoru Center for Visionary Healing Arts’ Colorado-approved Natural Medicine training program. As a contemplative psychotherapist, she specializes in intergenerational trauma and healing through Somatic Experiencing and psychedelic-assisted therapy. She serves as an MDMA-Assisted Therapy Training Consultant with Lykos Therapeutics. Sara upholds her ancestral traditions of Celtic and Hungarian lineages and is a long-time Vajrayana Buddhist practitioner, alongside her husband, Brett. They live in Longmont, Colorado, with their spirited daughter, Matilda.

For more than two decades, Marcela Ot’alora G., who was born and raised in Colombia, has contributed to the research of the safety and efficacy of MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of PTSD. She is a psychotherapist, artist, and researcher living in Boulder, Colorado. Deeply rooted in her maternal traditions kept alive through storytelling, she honors her grandmother’s belief that to make a positive difference in this world, work must be a manifestation of our love. She is deeply grateful to the women in her family for modeling bravery and resilience through love and the celebration of compassionate and caring relationships. She has been a principal investigator, therapist, mentor, consultant and lead trainer for phase I, II, and III clinical trials for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and Lykos Therapeutics. Marcela has an MA in Transpersonal Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, and an MFA in Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Bruce identifies as a cisgender, neurodiverse, white male and is an experiential learner. He was a sub-investigator/therapist and continues as a mentor, clinical supervisor, and lead trainer in the MAPS/Lykos Therapeutics-sponsored Phase I, II, and III MDMA-Assisted Therapy trials for PTSD since 2012. He continues to have the privilege of training practitioners in “MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD” internationally. His primary influence for therapy is Process Oriented Psychology, developed by Arnold Mindell. He was always interested in psychology but found the ‘therapy process too slow’, given his ADHD, until being introduced to psychedelic-assisted therapy in the late 90’s. That experience changed the direction of his life. Bruce combines somatic, contemplative, and awareness processes to identify the phenomena present in the therapy container. He loves working with people inspired by being in ‘right relationship.

During the 80’s Bruce was an ICU nurse at the University of California San Francisco, when the AIDS pandemic first began, and during that time was able to study ‘living’ with Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. He went on to receive a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. In the early 90’s he developed and ran public health programs, including a nurse-midwife-based perinatal program, serving low-income women, and a childhood abuse prevention program pairing public health nurses with community mental health workers. In addition, Bruce has worked extensively with people in chronic pain as an educator and Rolfer for 25 years. His work with MDMA for PTSD has deepened his appreciation of the importance of being worthy of trust, of being with people who turn their lives around in response to care, compassion and understanding, while being able to sit in the perpetrator role as needed, and acknowledging his ‘training’ as a perpetrator, in our challenging society. He sits on the Board of the International Alliance of MDMA Practitioners and loves to be in dialogue on the issues surrounding working with psychedelics as well as the importance of mainstreaming psychedelics.

Miriam is Memoru’s professional cleaning staff member. Born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico, Miriam came to the States as a young mother of two. She and her partner worked hard to give their growing family a good life. Family means everything to Miriam, and now the mother of five wonderful humans, she feels a lot of pride in how she has prioritized being a caring and loving mother and partner. Aside from her family, she sees resilience, positivity, and solid work ethics as her greatest skills and contribution to her community. In her job as a cleaner, she makes sure she leaves places the way she leaves her home, a place where people want to go into and feel safe and well taken care of. In addition, she is also an event coordinator for Luxe Events. She loves this job because she can express her creativity and be in connection with people. This is a place where she supports others and brings positivity into the working environment, something that nourishes her and makes her feel useful and helpful.

Megan is Memoru’s Operations Assistant, where she combines her organizational skills with a deep passion for supporting mental health and wellness. With over 20 years of experience in mindfulness and meditation programming, she’s committed to creating supportive environments, and serving her communities with kindness and clarity. Megan has practiced meditation for 25 years and believes in its power to help people stay focused, grounded, and present in their daily lives.

Megan is a UC Berkeley graduate with a degree in Political Science, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She lives in Longmont, CO, with her husband and two children, Coen and Imogen.

Charles G. Lief has a BA from Brandeis University and a JD from the University of Colorado School of Law. He served as the President of Naropa University from 2012-2025 and was actively engaged from the founding of Naropa in 1974 as a lawyer, trustee, and faculty member. He was a student of Naropa’s founder, the Tibetan Buddhist scholar and practitioner, Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche. Chuck is known for a long career in community development work. As president of the Greyston Foundation in Yonkers, NY he created housing for homeless families, child care centers, and social enterprises offering health and social services to underserved communities. The Greyston Bakery, still today a multi-million-dollar social enterprise that hires ex-offenders, formerly homeless, and chronically unemployed persons. Greyston was a founding member of Amida Care, a half-billion-dollar non-profit, New York State Special Needs HMO providing comprehensive health coverage and comprehensive care to Medicaid members with chronic conditions, including HIV/AIDS and behavioral health disorders (with special emphasis on members experiencing homelessness, and transgender experience). Chuck served as an early Amida Care Board member and later CEO beginning in 2004. Naropa University bases its pedagogy on a foundation that integrates the contemplative tools of mindfulness and compassion into the academic and creative disciplines of both didactic and service learning. At Naropa University, he led the faculty, staff, and board in expanding into new modes of education, including virtual and hybrid learning and post-graduate clinical training. That includes creating the Naropa Center for Psychedelic Studies.

Over a long career Chuck has served on numerous non-profit boards working toward sustainable social and economic transformation, including the Intervale Center in Burlington (VT), the Vermont Community Loan Fund, Vermont Works for Women, Veteran’s Path, and the Social Enterprise Alliance. He currently serves on the boards of the Lion's Roar Foundation and the Holistic Life Foundation.

He and his wife, Judith—a well-known Buddhist teacher, author and distinguished former Naropa president and board member—have two daughters, both Naropa University graduates, and four grandchildren.

Diana Quinn, ND is a licensed naturopathic doctor, healing justice practitioner, and psychedelic educator with over 20 years of service to marginalized communities including people of the global majority (BIPOC), 2SLGBTQIA+, and people living with disabilities and chronic illness. She holds a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from National University of Natural Medicine and a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Michigan, with a concentration on ritual, religion, and ethnobotany. In her clinical work she has focused on integrative oncology and end of life care, psychoneuroimmunology and mind/body medicine, and integrative mental health.

Dr. Quinn is the former Director of Clinical Education at the Naropa Center for Psychedelic Studies, where her curriculum centered historically excluded communities within an anti-oppressive framework. In her work in psychedelic education she has served as Director of Training at Alma Institute Psilocybin facilitator program, a mentor for the Psychedelic Facilitation Certificate Program at the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, and a guest instructor for Integrate to Evolve and GatherWell.

Dr. Quinn is a former board member of the Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies (BPMT), where she co-chaired the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She served on the Ethics Working Group for the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association (APPA), from which emerged the independent working group Holistic Initiative for Visionary Ethics (HIVE). In her time as a board member of Source Research Foundation, she chaired the SRF Community Grant Program. She has served on numerous advisory boards with an emphasis on ethical integrity, equity, accessibility, and Indigenous reciprocity in the psychedelic field.

Bruce identifies as a cisgender, neurodiverse, white male and is an experiential learner. He was a sub-investigator/therapist and continues as a mentor, clinical supervisor, and lead trainer in the MAPS/Lykos Therapeutics-sponsored Phase I, II, and III MDMA-Assisted Therapy trials for PTSD since 2012. He continues to have the privilege of training practitioners in “MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD” internationally.

His primary influence for therapy is Process Oriented Psychology, developed by Arnold Mindell. He was always interested in psychology but found the ‘therapy process too slow’, given his ADHD, until being introduced to psychedelic-assisted therapy in the late 90’s. That experience changed the direction of his life. Bruce combines somatic, contemplative, and awareness processes to identify the phenomena present in the therapy container. He loves working with people inspired by being in ‘right relationship.

During the 80’s Bruce was an ICU nurse at the University of California San Francisco, when the AIDS pandemic first began, and during that time was able to study ‘living’ with Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. He went on to receive a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. In the early 90’s he developed and ran public health programs, including a nurse-midwife-based perinatal program, serving low-income women, and a childhood abuse prevention program pairing public health nurses with community mental health workers.

In addition, Bruce has worked extensively with people in chronic pain as an educator and Rolfer for 25 years. His work with MDMA for PTSD has deepened his appreciation of the importance of being worthy of trust, of being with people who turn their lives around in response to care, compassion and understanding, while being able to sit in the perpetrator role as needed, and acknowledging his ‘training’ as a perpetrator, in our challenging society.

He sits on the Board of the International Alliance of MDMA Practitioners and loves to be in dialogue on the issues surrounding working with psychedelics as well as the importance of mainstreaming psychedelics.

Brett is an acupuncturist, bodyworker, and somatic therapist. His practice focuses on emotional wellness, treating mental health, and mood disorders. He's in private practice at Brett Knowles Acupuncture and Sky Medicine where he offers ketamine-assisted therapy. offers ketamine-assisted therapy. Brett has trained in MDMA-Assisted Therapy with Lykos and with PRATI, in ketamine therapy. He has also completed training through the intermediate level in Somatic Experiencing. He earned a BA in philosophy from Boston College and an MA from Southwest Acupuncture College. He is licensed to practice acupuncture in the state of Colorado.

As a Chinese Medicine provider and somatic therapist, Brett has a particular interest in providing end-of-life care for individuals nearing the end of life, and for working with families. Brett completed the PRATI End of Life and Existential Distress in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy program.

Brett sees goodness as the ground of our experience; even our shadows have their own wakefulness and purpose. Every moment is an invitation to reconnect and remember that wisdom. His approach is contemplative, inner-directed, and client-centered. He believes we all have an inner healer.

Sara is a psychedelic therapist, educator, and mentor. She brings expertise in organizational leadership, strategic development, and community movement-building. She graduated from Naropa University in 2012 with a Master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Nature-Based Therapy. While at Naropa, she co-founded the student group, Naropa Alliance for Psychedelic Studies (NAPS). Sara worked at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) from 2013-2023, overseeing the work of the Zendo Project and spearheading the MAPS city of Denver First Responder Psychedelic Crisis Assessment and Intervention Training. Sara was an appointed representative on the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel from 2019-2024. Sara was an Investigator/therapist for Lykos MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD Clinical Trials and serves as a Lykos Lead Educator, Training Consultant and Associate Supervisor. She was the founding Course Director for the Integrative Psychiatry Institute’s Psychedelic Assisted Therapy Training, overseeing a global faculty of over 30+ esteemed mental health experts and developing over 300 hours of curriculum, impacting over 2,000 students.

Sara comes from mixed white/Hispanic ancestry and was raised in Northern New Mexico. Central to her own healing journey has been a connection to land and the natural world. She has held a relationship with psychedelics for over 25 years and they have supported her in navigating her own personal and transgenerational trauma. She believes in the potential of psychedelics as catalysts for individual, community, and collective healing and is committed to equitable access for historically and currently marginalized communities.