Subtle Winds Training Program
Biographies
Ben is co-founder and director of Subtle Winds. He has worked in the mental health field for over two decades, having held positions such as: Crisis Worker, Mobile Crisis Worker, Grant Writer, and other direct service and administrative positions.
Ben has dedicated his life to serving individuals from historically marginalized communities. He worked at White Bird Clinic in Eugene for 15 years starting as a Crisis worker on their 24/7 Crisis Line and Walk-in Center. Later he joined the mobile crisis intervention team (CAHOOTS) as a Crisis Worker, began doing psychedelic harm reduction at festivals with White Bird’s Rock Medicine program and providing de-escalation training across the state.
Most recently Mr. Brubaker served as the Executive Director of White Bird Clinic, a local Federally Qualified Health Center with a focus on supporting low-income and traditionally marginalized communities in Eugene, Oregon. This agency serves 10,000 plus individuals annually, and during his time as ED, the agency went from a 2-million-dollar annual budget to over 12 million annually.
Kate Gillespie is co-founder and Clinical Director of Subtle Winds Training and Transformative Wellness Center. She is a psychotherapist, an experienced clinical supervisor, and behavioral health training facilitator. Kate’s focus is in supporting women, gender diverse humans, and those identifying within the LGBTQ+ community.
With two decades of experience in the mental health field, Kate has gained knowledge of a diverse array of therapeutic settings and modalities including wilderness therapy, state psychiatric hospital, emergency department, mobile crisis response, and psychedelic harm reduction at festivals and events. Through traditional and non-traditional practice models Kate has developed her own unique way of meeting people where they are at. Most recently Kate was CAHOOTS Director and Behavioral Health Director of White Bird Clinic as well as starting and running her own growing private therapy practice.
Hello, I’m Lorie Ann Lee and I’ve been a counselor, speaker, facilitator, seminar leader, university instructor and lead educator over the last 25 years. I’ve worked with individuals, families, couples, adolescents, and children in a variety of settings. The Three Principles approach to counseling and teaching allows my clients and students to raise their overall level of well-being and I immensely enjoy getting to watch their lives improve and change for the better.
Along with the Co-Founders of Subtle Winds I helped to create our Psilocybin Facilitator program from the ground up. For the last year I’ve functioned as the Lead Educator at Subtle Winds. Currently, I am the lead instructor for Core Facilitation of Psilocybin Facilitation. I also teach classes in multiple subject areas and will be providing supervision to students for the practicum part of the program.
Being from Eugene I have been a part of the psychedelic scene since college. I took a long break from my interest in psychedelics while I was living in Hawaii. When I moved back to Eugene in 2016, I started learning about the benefits of microdosing. From there I started hearing about the success people were having with macrodosing in a formal therapeutic setting. As all of this was happening one of my colleagues invited me to a gathering of likeminded people to discuss the future of psilocybin facilitation in Oregon as measure 109 was getting ready to pass. It occurred to me that the work I was doing pointing people to their own divine intelligence was a perfect match for psilocybin work because psilocybin points people in the same direction. From there everything seemed to fall into place as I partnered with Benjah and Kate to create a service center. However, once the law passed it became clear there was a need for a program in Eugene to help people get the education and practicum needed to get certified to become psilocybin facilitators. That’s when we decided to start a Psilocybin Facilitator training program. I’m proud to say we have now graduated two cohorts and we are currently running our third.
As a person I love my family and spending time making memories with them. I cannot get enough of the outdoors and enjoy hiking, skiing, paddling, walking and dancing at festivals. I have been a spiritual seeker as long as I can remember and honestly, I’d say this is my favorite pastime. I love to read, listen to music and connect with my friends.
If you would like to connect with me, I prefer to connect via phone but email works too. You can Call or text and we can set up a time to chat. (808) 722-6361, lorieannblee@gmail.com
Laurencio Lopez Nuñez is an internationally recognized Master Curandero from Oaxaca Mexico. At a young age, Laurencio was identified as having the “don”, the gift for healing. He was sent to live and learn from his Zapotec grandmother for 6 years. She was a midwife, herbalist, and a temazcalera (sweatlodge leader). After returning to his parents’ home, he went on to earn a degree in Biology in order to understand the science behind traditional plant medicine.
He has taught in the Curanderismo Summer Program at UNM in Albuquerque for the past 20 years. Through a grant with the Kellog Foundation with CECIPROC, he aided Zapotec communities in the mountains of Oaxaca. He educated them on theory and implementation of nutrition and sustainable agriculture. There, people would request that he share his wisdom about plants and other cures. He is known for his powerful healings in the temazcal as well as his limpias, ceremonies, and rituals.
Antra Renault, MSW, licensed psilocybin facilitator, comes to us with over 20 years of social work and mental health/wellness experience. She has worked as a counselor in community mental health agencies, and currently as a private practice counselor specializing in Mindfulness/Somatic based, Internal Family Systems (IFS) ‘parts work’. She recently transitioned from a long career providing play therapy to very young children and families, into primarily supporting adults on their psychedelic journey, from the preparation through the integration phases. She feels her extensive background in childhood development lends well in assisting those who wish to heal wounds endured in childhood. As a social worker, she has a strong passion for working with the LGBTQIA+ community, traditionally underserved or marginalized populations, parents and caregivers, as well as supporting people working in the healing and helping professions.
With Subtle Winds, Antra currently teaches and supervises students as a lead educator and Integration specialist. She comes to us with a Batchelor’s degree in Comparative/Eastern Religions, and a Master’s Degree in Social Work. In 2022, Antra completed a year-long, 150-hour Psychedelic Assisted Therapy certificate program with the Integrative Psychiatry Institute (IPI) in Boulder Colorado. The program focused on working therapeutically with Ketamine, Psilocybin, and MDMA. The following year she completed an additional 120 hour accelerated program in Psilocybin Psychedelic administration.
Antra is excited to co-create learning and is dedicated to supporting people in all facets of their learning, healing, and exploration journeys. She has a deep passion for guiding people towards their inner healing wisdom, and supports folks in having healthy interdependent relationships in their lives. She believes that psychedelic medicine is an ally that helps the process of deep connection to the core Self, and propels people toward authentic and abundant lives. She believes in empowering people to be their best and most authentic and healthy selves.
Antra lives with her family in a large wooden yurt in rural Cottage Grove. She loves traveling afar, and kayaking the local rivers and lakes with her partner and their two teenage sons. Antra can be reached on Signal at (541) 357-8082.
Jeya Aerenson
Subtle Winds Trainer, Facilitator
Email: staff@subtlewinds.org
Phone: (541) 357-8082
Jeya Aerenson, OMD, BA (Social Work), LAc, LPF, has been providing acupuncture and integrative therapies for over 30 years. In addition to her private practice specializing in emotional issues, Dr Jeya facilitates Mind-Body Skills groups based on the research proven practices of the international organization, the Center for Mind Body Medicine where she is a supervisor. Dr Jeya has done trauma relief using community-style acupuncture after natural disasters in the US and Mexico since 2005. She founded the Oaxaca AcuProject which trains rural healthcare workers in Mexico about PTSD and how to mobilize clinics after natural disasters and other crises. During her annual trips to Oaxaca she studies with curanderos, traditional healers.
Dr Jeya has taught Acupuncture, Mind-Body Skills, and Qi Gong at the Department of Psychology at the University of Oregon, the University of Arizona Program in Integrative Medicine, and the Department of Medicine at the Benito Juarez University in Oaxaca, Mexico. She spent 8 years providing acupuncture and Chinese herbal consultations in the medical department at Canyon Ranch in Tucson before returning to Eugene, Oregon in 2005. She combined her love of dance with her passion for wellness to co-create SoulChiSa which integrates Mind-Body practices and Qi Gong with Cuban music and movement.
Dr Jeya is a Subtle Winds graduate and an Oregon Licensed Facilitator. Through personal experiences, ceremony, and supporting those who have needed assistance, she has been part of the psychedelic culture for decades. At Subtle Winds, Dr Jeya is an Instructor, Section Lead in History, Integration Group Facilitator, Practicum Supervisor, and liaison for Laurencio Lopez Nuñez, Oaxacan Curandero. Her favorite part of Subtle Winds is the remarkable community that has been created.
To learn more about Dr Jeya, visit her website at: https://globalmindbody.com/
Valeria Clarke has been in the social services field for 24 years and remains passionate about serving and supporting folx in gaining their highest potential. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she has worked in community mental health as a crisis services provider, therapist, case manager, administrator; a certified alcohol and drug counselor (abstinence and harm reduction); and a domestic violence advocate. She provides trainings to mental health professionals and community members at large primarily on suicide prevention, crisis intervention, and ethics. Valeria works through a trauma-informed lens, with a strengths-based, humanistic perspective. She has a long history of successfully working with those who have experienced trauma, domestic violence, grief and loss, psychosis, and with members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Today, in addition to running a rural private practice, she is an educator with Subtle Winds Psilocybin Facilitator Training program in the areas of ethics, preparation, and core facilitation. Valeria obtained a certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy focusing on psilocybin, ketamine, and MDMA from the Integrative Psychiatry Institute. Valeria currently holds a license from the state of Oregon as a Psilocybin Facilitator, has her MAPS certification in MDMA pending, and currently engages in psychedelic preparation and integration in her private practice. Valeria is also a certified SoulCollage™ facilitator and brings this work into therapy and the psychedelic realm.
Valeria believes deeply in the healing nature of psychedelics and is excited to be part of the current wave of psychedelic healing. She belongs to the neurodivergent, Jewish, and LGBTQIA+ communities and is passionate about ethnobotany, gardening, cooking, fiber and paper arts, and playing on the beach with her partner and dog.
Alex Cardenas, MD, MA, is the son of first and third generation immigrants and the grandson of a curandera. He is a community and safety-net psychiatrist who has worked in the public mental health and public education space since 1999 as a provider, administrator, researcher, and advocate. He is a cofounder of the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association and also helped to launch the CIIS CPTR Alumni Association and the Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapy. Educated at Yale (BA in psychology), Stanford (MD, MA in Policy, Organizations, and Leadership Studies), and CIIS (Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research) his clinical background pulls from relational, dynamic, and biological lineages. He has dedicated his career to bringing the highest standards of care to underserved communities, and he brings this ethos into his work as a teacher, mentor, advocate, and provider.
Heather Shelton has been involved in the care of others most of her life. She has a background in homebirth midwifery, herbalism and worked for a decade as a nurse in the Emergency Department. Her interest in plant medicines began at a young age and has been interspersed throughout her career. She currently works as the Assistant Director at Epic Healing Eugene and spends as much time in her gardens as possible.
Heather loves to witness others’ journeys back to themselves and Nature through their work with plant medicines and feels a strong connection with Mother Earth. She teaches classes on Ethics at Subtle Winds and has enjoyed getting to know the learners. The best way to contact Heather is email at herbsongfarm@gmail.com.
Founder of Krysalis Medicine, Kristina is a registered nurse, Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner (IFMCP), licensed massage therapist, and therapeutic yoga instructor. She completed a Certification in Psychedelic Therapy & Research from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, CA and is trained to be an MDMA therapist through the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Before her western medicine training, she studied with traditional wisdom carriers in spiritual lineages from India, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Hawai’i, and indigenous tribal nations of North America. It was through these beautiful traditions that she discovered the healing power of sacred plant medicines, ceremony, prayer, and ritual. Kristina has been a trainer and traditional plant medicine specialist for Subtle Winds since the program’s genesis in 2023. All she does, she does in honor of our sacred earth mother and her inhabitants.
Kristina weaves her study of nutrition, nutraceuticals, bodywork, yoga, dance, meditation, shamanism, sacred plant medicine, somatic therapy, ritual, ceremony, and psychedelic integration into her therapeutic presence as a nurse coach and psychedelic medicine specialist.
Contact: krysalislifestyle@gmail.com
I began my practice of medicine in Oregon in 1983 as a surgical intern at OHSU. After completing a general surgery residency, I practiced general and trauma surgery at the major hospitals in Portland. Relocating to the Columbia Gorge in 2001 allowed a more relaxed pace. I used the opportunity to expand my practice of medicine into new areas: travel & tropical medicine, acupuncture/body work, international medical missions with Doctors without Borders, event medicine with White Bird Rock Medicine and service as ship doctor on polar expedition journeys.
Coming of age in the 1960s, I was fortunate enough to partake in the psychedelic renaissance of that era. These experiences shaped my world view and colored my practice of medicine to this day.
My formal exposure to plant medicine began in the early 1990s with national and international symposia where I personally encountered many pioneers in the field.
When the Oregon psilocybin ballot measure was proposed, I immediately jumped on board. The Subtle Winds team was a perfect fit for my goals. I enthusiastically joined the first facilitator training cohort as both instructor and student. I received my psilocybin facilitator license in August of last year. Since then, I’ve worked as a facilitator with Vital Reset service center in Hood River. I established a medical device/risk management assessment service assisting other facilitators and service centers with prospective clients. In addition, I recently began working with several groups attempting to expand access to psychedelic medicine for the end of life/palliative care populations.
Melanie (she/her) is a grounded, heart-led co-traveler who has accompanied over a hundred individual, couples, and group journeys through hurt, joy, “not good enough”, forgiveness, play, anger, despair, fears of death & life, wholeness, race and cultural wounds, trauma, shadow and into the beyond.
Her work as a nurse since 2012, past work as a home caregiver for the dying, and university music training as a vocalist and instrumentalist expanded her view of the Essential Medicines: Caring, Community, and Connection to the Higher. Her social justice and ethics statement is at: www.kawashimavelez.com
Melanie identifies as Japanese American. She trained at CIIS CPTR, MAPS, Polaris KAP, Temenos KAP, and Subtle Winds, where she also teaches. Besides facilitating at Mandala Work Center, Melanie is a BIPOC circle community leader and a psychiatric prescriber and therapist with ketamine, and for local programs for sex offenders, perinatal psychiatry, and addiction medicine. She loves being in the water, with friends, family, cooking, poetry, music, and doing her own self-work as a psychonaut.
Pilar Hernández-Wolfe, Ph.D. is a mestiza earth-keeper who blends indigenous and western ways of healing, relationship, and ceremony. She is a descendant of indigenous peoples whose lands were stripped by a papal bull that declared them not human. This left her ancestors with the “Great Forgetting.” She is the living mix of Indigenous and Southern European peoples. She is committed to constructing with others the “Great Remembering” and to bringing back connection, equity, and reciprocity with all beings.
Pilar is a tenured professor and author, a licensed family therapist and a licensed clinical professional counselor, a clinical member and approved supervisor of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, an approved clinical supervisor in Oregon. Pilar has over twenty-five years of experience working with individuals, couples, and families in therapy. Her work on decolonization and mental health integrates Indigenous and Western well-being approaches. She was born and raised in Colombia, South America, where she links closely with indigenous networks and teachings. She is fully bilingual in Spanish and English. Pilar completed the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) MDMA Therapy training and served in the training and equity subcommittees of the Oregon Psilocybin Services advisory board.
Jade Stay, a compassionate and skilled psilocybin facilitator, is a dynamic figure in the realm of holistic healing and plant medicine. With a rich background that spans herbalism, sound baths, and ambient music, Jade brings a unique blend of therapeutic modalities to her practice. Born in Maryland and raised in Utah, she now resides in Eugene, OR. As a 36-year-old trans/non-binary woman of British, Danish, and Welsh ancestry.
Jade’s professional journey is marked by a strong commitment to supporting marginalized communities, particularly LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals. This commitment stems from her own personal journey within the queer community and her transformation from her roots in the Mormon faith to embracing a more inclusive spiritual path as a pagan, gnostic, and spiritualist. Living with adult ADHD, Jade has developed resilience and adaptability, essential qualities that she brings to her work in healing and community engagement.
At the Subtle Winds Psilocybin Training Program, Jade has excelled as a facilitator, educational content creator, and enrollment coordinator. Her role involves developing inclusive educational materials, mentoring peers, and managing the intricate process of enrollment, all while ensuring a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Jade’s ability to organize and coordinate ceremonial healing spaces showcases her organizational skills and empathetic nature.
Her apprenticeship in a local plant medicine circle further highlights her dedication to learning and growing within her field. Here, Jade has honed her skills in empathic facilitation and deepened her understanding of herbal therapies, crafting teas, tinctures, and salves that aid in the holistic healing process.
An advocate for creating accessible healing spaces, Jade has led and co-led initiatives focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Her efforts in advocating for scholarship programs demonstrate her commitment to making healing practices more accessible to marginalized individuals.
Jade’s vision for the future is to continue growing and refining her skills, contributing to spaces of healing, liberation, and expression for all voices. Her unique blend of skills, passion, and experience makes her a pivotal figure in the field of holistic healing and an advocate for positive change in her community.
Amy May holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Western New Mexico University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Oregon. She completed Death Doula training through the International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA) and is a member of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA) and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. She is a Reiki Level 1 practitioner and has worked with tarot and evolutionary astrology for over 25 years.
In 2018, Amy founded the End-of-Life Counseling program at White Bird Clinic in Eugene, Oregon, in response to oppressive systemic structures that hinder equitable access to end-of-life care. She worked for 5 years as a Crisis Worker for CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets) and has worked in psychedelic harm-reduction with White Bird Rock Medicine since 2017. In 2021, she opened her private practice, Sacred Phases Counseling, and is a founding member and on the Guidance Council for the Oregon Deathcare Collective. Amy has been the End-of-Life Specialist for Subtle Winds since its inception.
Greetings! My name is Fran, I am a multidimensional community worker deeply committed to fostering inclusivity and equity in all aspects of my endeavors. Working daily with people who are in altered states of consciousness, providing a sanctuary for reflection, support, and ensuring their safe journey home.
Drawing from my decade-long journey with plant medicines, I’ve come to appreciate the transformative power of intentionality.
I am a polyamorous, non-binary individual with South American indigenous heritage born on colonial soil —serving as a guide in the realm of psychedelic facilitation.
I was first introduced to psychedelics as a way to work with my own healing journey, this began with a decade long process of working with these medicines, springing forth a deep-seated desire to support and nurture my community.
Having completed the first cohort for Subtle Winds, I now stand in solidarity for my fellow peers in a supportive role, offering a model for holding space and fostering growth within our collective journey.
If you seek a compassionate guide who understands the intricacies of holding space within the transformative realm of psychedelic exploration, please feel free to reach out via phone at 541-799-9393. Let’s embark on this journey together.
Michelle Ericksen, PhD, is a medicine woman, teacher, researcher and coach. She has engaged in ritual work since her 20s. A 25-year educator in both public education (K-12 through-post-graduate) and government, Michelle’s syncretic plant-and spirit-based offerings draw from avariety of teachers, wisdom and shamanic practices, as well as the fields of education, psychology, neuro-biology, trauma-informed practices, quantum physics and cultural anthropology. She received a masters from Stanford and a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon.
She is an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church, and an instructor in the Subtle Winds Psilocybin Assisted Therapy Training Program. Michelle’s work in plant medicines, indigenous wisdom practices, and shamanism were inspired by the people and experiences of healing and insight she encounters as she travels the globe (49 countries, and counting.)
Michelle lives in Redmond, in Central Oregon’s High Desert, with her husband and two rambunctious dogs.
Skills and expertise – learning from, navigating, understanding and integrating traditional wisdom practices, especially as a person of dominant culture/privilege, screening and “right-fit” of clients, supporting ceremonial and spirit-based experiences.
Preferred contact: Text: 541-603-8485.
My name is Stephanie Long. I am a registered nurse working primarily in home infusion with the immune compromised populations.
I have been practicing festival medicine with White Bird Rock Med and other organizations for 14 years providing medical and harm reduction services. I have a great respect for plant medicine and its indigenous roots, and strong beliefs that our return to Mother Earth will bring much needed healing to our human collective.
I’ve been involved with Subtle Winds since it’s becoming, and love teaching a small piece of the pharmacology course on brain connectivity and elasticity. I love the connection between neuroscience and the spiritual awakening.
I am grateful to be involved in the movement.
Dr. Russell is an Emergency, Urgent Care, Hospice and Palliative Care physician, with a clinical faculty appointment at the University of Chicago. He trained at the University of Michigan, Oregon Health and Science University, and the University of Chicago. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Russell has been teaching on the value of and utilizing psychedelics for the the treatment of mental health disorders for over five years. He can be contacted via email drjoshuarussell@gmail.com.
Chuck Sve is a licensed acupuncturist and crisis counselor who works in a public health clinic in Portland, Oregon. He has worked here with the individuals experiencing houselessness, mental illness, and addiction for over 20 years. He has been involved in psychedelic harm reduction and crisis interventions at festivals and concerts for the last 30 years. He is committed to a life of service and holding compassionate spaces for others.
At Subtle Winds, Chuck is an instructor. He was a participant in the second cohort.
In his free time, Chuck loves to travel, cook, read, and listen to music. He lives in Portland with his partner and a small black kitty named Neko.
Preferred method of contact is email: pdxraindog@hotmail.com
Sun Bear owns Sun Bear’s Positive Alternative Wellness Sanctuary, where he integrates somatic healing with mind-body wellness practices. He earned his Doctorate of Chiropractic from the University of Western states in Portland, OR in 2019. Additionally, He has more than15 years experience as a professional massage therapist.
Subtle Winds sparked the integration of Sun Bear’s personal and professional lives. He started as a student in their first cohort, and then continued his relationship with Subtle Winds in their second cohort as an instructor and practicum supervisor. Sun Bear is now a Lead Educator for the third cohort of Subtle Winds, and is the section lead for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In 2023 he began volunteering with Rock Medicine at Oregon festivals. Additionally, Sun Bear was involved in the medical cannabis movement from 2001-2016 and has long standing roots in the west coast psychedelic festival community.
His informal training is rooted in a generational lineage of medicine keepers on his mother’s side of the family. Great grandmother was an indigenous medicine woman that worked with the sacred mushrooms. Mama Bear, Sun Bear’s mother, was offered Bear Medicine by Spirit during a traditional Native peyote ceremony. Mama Bear was a strong proponent of the 1960’s psychedelic revolution, while Sun Bear’s father was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. Through this lens, Sun Bear was raised with a deep understanding of the potential healing powers of psychedelics and compassionate space holding.
In 2000, he spent time living in West Africa observing and participating in traditional West African ceremonies in Ghana and Burkina Faso. While in Ghana he spent time living at the Black and White Shrine where he participated in rituals to reconnect with his African heritage, guided by the priest to the King of the Ashanti people.
Sun Bear’s deeply empathetic inner being was forged from the difficulties he endured during his upbringing. Growing up a multi-ethnic individual, and economically disadvantaged, in the wetlands of southeast Alaska, provided him a framework for learning how to overcome adversity. He spent his youth developing a deep relationship to the land. At a young age Sun Bear understood his love of Nature and the powerful healing that comes from communing with Her. He feels the world around him through this empathetic lens.
Individuals identifying as BIPOC, disenfranchised, or marginalized are near and dear to Sun Bear’s heart, as well as those who identify as energetically sensitive, aware, attuned, or empathetic. He holds a special interest in working with people at the End of Life.
Sun Bear believes that the body is the soul’s sanctuary. Through the use of psychedelics and somatic practices he has found it possible to journey inward, into the body to do true soul healing. Where magic, mystic, and medicine merge is the space that he finds most exciting to work. Sun Bear knows Nature holds all the answers and that all the Plants and Animals are here to teach. There is currently a calling from the Master Plants and Fungi for deep healing.
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Sun Bear owns Sun Bear’s Positive Alternative Wellness Sanctuary, where he integrates somatic healing with mind-body wellness practices. He earned his Doctorate of Chiropractic from the University of Western states in Portland, OR in 2019. Additionally, He has more than15 years experience as a professional massage therapist.
Subtle Winds sparked the integration of Sun Bear’s personal and professional lives. He started as a student in their first cohort, and then continued his relationship with Subtle Winds in their second cohort as an instructor and practicum supervisor. Sun Bear is now a Lead Educator for the third cohort of Subtle Winds, and is the section lead for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In 2023 he began volunteering with Rock Medicine at Oregon festivals. Additionally, Sun Bear was involved in the medical cannabis movement from 2001-2016 and has long standing roots in the west coast psychedelic festival community.
His informal training is rooted in a generational lineage of medicine keepers on his mother’s side of the family. Great grandmother was an indigenous medicine woman that worked with the sacred mushrooms. Mama Bear, Sun Bear’s mother, was offered Bear Medicine by Spirit during a traditional Native peyote ceremony. Mama Bear was a strong proponent of the 1960’s psychedelic revolution, while Sun Bear’s father was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War. Through this lens, Sun Bear was raised with a deep understanding of the potential healing powers of psychedelics and compassionate space holding.
In 2000, he spent time living in West Africa observing and participating in traditional West African ceremonies in Ghana and Burkina Faso. While in Ghana he spent time living at the Black and White Shrine where he participated in rituals to reconnect with his African heritage, guided by the priest to the King of the Ashanti people.
Sun Bear’s deeply empathetic inner being was forged from the difficulties he endured during his upbringing. Growing up a multi-ethnic individual, and economically disadvantaged, in the wetlands of southeast Alaska, provided him a framework for learning how to overcome adversity. He spent his youth developing a deep relationship to the land. At a young age Sun Bear understood his love of Nature and the powerful healing that comes from communing with Her. He feels the world around him through this empathetic lens.
Individuals identifying as BIPOC, disenfranchised, or marginalized are near and dear to Sun Bear’s heart, as well as those who identify as energetically sensitive, aware, attuned, or empathetic. He holds a special interest in working with people at the End of Life.
Sun Bear believes that the body is the soul’s sanctuary. Through the use of psychedelics and somatic practices he has found it possible to journey inward, into the body to do true soul healing. Where magic, mystic, and medicine merge is the space that he finds most exciting to work. Sun Bear knows Nature holds all the answers and that all the Plants and Animals are here to teach. There is currently a calling from the Master Plants and Fungi for deep healing.