Dee Dee Goldpaugh, LCSW, psychotherapist, educator, activist

Dee Dee Goldpaugh, is a psychotherapist, educator, and activist in Woodstock, NY. Dee Dee specializes in Psychedelic Integration Therapy with a focus on LGBTQIA+ people as well as survivors of sexual trauma. They are a member of the Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy team at the Woodstock Therapy Center and they are the Community Integration and Support Director of the Hudson Valley Psychedelic Society. Dee Dee has taught and published widely on psychedelics and mental health, sexuality, and trauma.

Hadas Alterman, attorney, Plant Medicine Law Group

Hadas is an Israeli-American attorney, born in Jerusalem and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Hadas advises companies on matters of regulatory compliance, corporate transactions, policy advocacy, strategic planning, governance, and dispute resolution. She was the Policy Director of NYMHA, an organization that she co-founded that successfully lobbied for the introduction of a New York bill to decriminalize psilocybin. She is a Board Member of the American Psychedelic Practitioner’s Association and a Founding Board Member of the Psychedelic Bar Association. Hadas serves on the Equity Subcommittee of the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board.

Noah Potter, consultant, Legal Market Strategies

Brooklyn-based Noah Potter is a psychedelic policy consultant who joined the psychedelic legalization movement in 1993. He writes the blog Psychedelic Law. He has worked to call attention to the racial disparities of drug law enforcement, and in 2020 co-founded an advocacy group dedicated to psychedelic law reform in New York. He has advised the Decriminalize Denver campaign, and advocates immediate, safe, and equitable (affordable, culturally-relevant, and non-exploitative) access to a psychedelic experience for anyone anywhere who could benefit from it.

Dmitri Mugianis, activist, musician, poet, writer, and psychedelic practitioner

Dimitri Mugianis is an activist, musician, poet, harm reductionist and writer with over two decades of experience as a frontline harm reduction worker and psychedelic practitioner. He is a co-founder of Cardea. Dimitri’s story and work have been featured in numerous media outlets including The New York Times, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, NPR’s This American Life, VICE HBO, The Daily Beast, and Crimetown podcast. He was the subject of the 2009 documentary “Dangerous with Love” by Michael Negroponte. He has written for Chacruna, Salon, The Guardian, and Jacobin.

Pamela Jackson, Founder and Director, Psychedelic Sisterhood

Pammy Jackson is the founder and executive director of the womxn-led, not-for-profit organization, The Psychedelic Sisterhood. Pammy started The Psychedelic Sisterhood to provide womxn with a safe space to discuss, learn, and share experiences about the healing power of psychedelics and reclaim the association of medicinal plants as their original indigenous source; offering an inclusive environment to thrive and grow.The Psychedelic Sisterhood also collaborates with like-minded organizations for psychedelic advocacy and to support drug policy reform.

Linda Rosenthal, NYS Assemblymember, sponsor of A6065

Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal represents the 67th Assembly District, which includes the Upper West Side and parts of Hell’s Kitchen. Since taking office in 2006, Assemblymember Rosenthal has passed more than 140 laws that have helped to improve the lives of all New York State residents. In 2021, Assemblymember Rosenthal passed legislation into law establishing a medication assisted treatment program for people battling a substance use disorder in state and local correctional facilities. She also is the sponsor of legislation to authorize safer consumption sites throughout New York State, a cause she has championed since 2016. Assemblymember Rosenthal sponsors two bills related to psilocybin: A6065, which would decriminalize psilocybin by removing it from the list of scheduled substances; and A7928, which would establish the psychedelic research institute and the psychedelic substances therapeutic research program charged with studying and providing recommendations regarding the use of psychedelic substances in the treatment of addictive disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, end-of-life anxiety and other pertinent outcomes.

Pat Burke, NYS Assemblymember, sponsor of A8569

Pat Burke hails from Buffalo and was first elected to represent the 142nd Assembly District in 2019. Assemblymember Burke’s notable legislative accomplishments include a ban on microbead plastics, a repeal of Sunday Blue Laws, a million-dollar emergency fund created to combat the opioid crisis and the formation of the Erie County Broadband Committee. He also introduced legislation that would make the pharmaceutical industry pay its fair share to keep our local drinking water free of medical waste, and not pass the burden onto taxpayers. Assemblymember Burke sponsors A8569, a bill that would amend the public health law to allow for the medical use of psilocybin in a tightly controlled set of circumstances.

Corinne Carey, co-moderator

Corinne Carey is a lawyer and a political and public affairs strategist who takes on bold public health initiatives backed by sound evidence and human rights principles. Her policy work is grounded in her long history in the harm reduction movement. She founded and directed the Harm Reduction Law Project, and has also worked for Human Rights Watch and the New York Civil Liberties Union. She serves as the state director for Compassion & Choices in New York, and also works as a political & public affairs correspondent for the Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

Aileen Javier, co-moderator

Aileen Javier is a Community Health Worker, an Outreach Educator, and a family advocate. She is passionate about fomenting community health by supporting and empowering people to successfully navigate the local social and health care system. Aileen collaborates with the Sanctuary for Independent Media’s NATURE Lab on its newest initiative: the People’s Health Sanctuary, and she is also a radio producer for the Hudson Mohawk Magazine, producing news segments on housing and local health resources.

Capital Region Harm Reduction Roundtable