Meet some of our team members

Justin Townsend

CEO & Head Facilitator

Justin Townsend

CEO & Head Facilitator

With experience as an advisor to start-ups, most recently in the healthcare space, Justin brings a blend of business acumen, leadership skills and a nose for futuristic health models to the MycoMeditations team.

Throughout his career Justin has worked as a business leader across a range of industries, helping innovative companies identify opportunities, communicate their vision and deliver profitable products. But he has also been on a personal quest to explore alternative healing therapies to combat his own anxiety and depression.

Over the past 20 years Justin has delved into both transpersonal and Jungian depth psychology, explored psychedelic modes of healing and developed meditation and breath work techniques, which he taught in Germany.

After attending a private retreat with MycoMeditations in 2017, he saw the opportunity to combine his unique business skills with his interest in alternative healing methods. Justin joined the MycoMeditations team soon afterwards, becoming partner and CEO in 2019.

As a retreat facilitator, Justin draws inspiration from the profound healing he is privileged to witness and believes that psychedelics offer an exciting path forward for mental health.

Mike Ljubsa

Business Director & Facilitator

Mike Ljubsa

Business Director & Facilitator

When completing his Bachelor of Commerce degree in University, Mike suffered from depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Conventional treatments he tried didn’t help, which was when he discovered psilocybin mushrooms and began to explore his mind in a quest for healing.

After his first experiences, psychedelics became his primary interest. He realized these compounds were completely misunderstood by society and offered something far greater than he ever imagined.

Looking to take his exploration further, Mike went to MycoMeditations in its early days and over the course of a week in Jamaica, undertaking three of the biggest psilocybin experiences of his life, everything changed for him. This transformative week allowed him to leave with a completely different perspective on life. The experience completely reframed his understanding of personal issues, the human mind, and reality. He has pursued psychedelic exploration ever since.

Mike immediately dropped his career plans to join MycoMeditations and provided initial funding. He oversees business-related projects and often works at the retreat as a facilitator.

Abbie Townsend

Director of Operations

Abbie Townsend

Director of Operations

With over a decade of management experience in the hotel and hospitality industry and an impressive background in photography and design, Abbie brings a wide variety of skills to the MycoMeditations team.

Abbie brings her unparalleled organizational skills to on-site logistics and operations in Jamaica and is always available to past, current, and future guests who need assistance. She coordinates all our vendors, transport team, massage therapists, and villa staff, maintaining a high level of service and quality for all our guests.

In addition to her hospitality experience, Abbie is an award-winning photographer and is responsible for all the beautiful imagery included on the MycoMeditations website and social media platforms. After completing a degree in Photography and Design from the Hallmark Institute in Massachusetts, Abbie ran a New York based studio from a British photography company, where she was awarded International Photographer of the Year in 2019. Prior to this, she was the first American woman to ever be awarded an Associateship with the British Institute of Professional Photographers.

With her combined love of hospitality and design, Abbie has been a fundamental part of elevating the guest experience at MycoMeditations to a new standard.

Denise Rue

Clinical Director & Retreat Leader, LCSW

Denise Rue

Clinical Director & Retreat Leader, LCSW

A licensed clinical social worker and hypnotherapist, Denise joined the MycoMeditations team in 2019. She has since worked with hundreds of guests, both as staff therapist and as a retreat leader. Highly intuitive and compassionate, Denise recognizes the profound privilege and responsibility of working with this healing medicine.

After attending a MycoMeditations retreat as a guest in 2018, Denise was asked to return as a facilitator. Her therapeutic expertise includes nearly a decade working with survivors of complex trauma and childhood sexual abuse, as well as years working in hospice. Her trainings include Fluence’s “Psychedelics for Clinicians,” EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing,) Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and Internal Family Systems work.

Besides holding master’s degrees in speech-language pathology and social work, Denise has an MFA in poetry and has taught poetry in schools, nursing homes and a women’s prison. In her spare time, she travels, writes, cooks, swims, and takes long walks with MycoMeditations’ retreat dog, Lolo.

Gwen Ingram-Jones

Retreat Leader & Therapist, LMFT

Gwen Ingram-Jones

Retreat Leader & Therapist, LMFT

In addition to working in the psychedelic-assisted therapy field, Gwen is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She specializes in working with clients with eating disorders, which often means treating depression, anxiety, and trauma.

Gwen has been working in the mental health field since 2007 and holds a designation as a Child Mental Health Specialist. She has worked in a variety of settings ranging from weekly outpatient care to involuntary psychiatric hospitals. Additionally, she has obtained certifications from MAPS’ MDMA-Assisted Therapy Training Program and for Substance Use treatment.

Gwen’s own relationship with psychedelics has led to continued personal growth and increased insight. She attributes her ability to move through life’s challenges and goals and tend to relationships that better align with her values to this work.

While working with others in this field, she may use skills from Motivational Interviewing, DBT, IFS and Lifespan Integration. Our guests are drawn to Gwen’s calm, supportive energy, and her genuine care for others is a daily presence on retreat.

Steven Benjamin

Therapist & Facilitator, LCSW

Steven Benjamin

Therapist & Facilitator, LCSW

Steven completed his graduate training in clinical social work in 1984. Since that time, he has worn many hats including developing his own private practice, supervising a team of six therapists in an agency setting, providing mental health consultation in a college setting, and raising five children who are now launched and chasing their own dreams.

Steven has learned through the years that psychotherapy becomes unnecessarily limited when the process is maintained at an intellectual level only. True change happens when there is a felt sense of something being experienced physically. Steven‘s capacity to slow things down and bring awareness to energetic shifts is the heart and soul of his work. He quickly realized that his style of allowing a space for real healing and not just internal management, was a resonant fit for integrating psychedelic experience.

In keeping with this focus, Steven has trained in and utilized a number of different therapy modalities including EMDR, hypnotherapy, and Somatic Experiencing. He is also a Level III Internal Family Systems practitioner which represents his deepest dive into somatic based therapy approaches.

Steven’s personal relationship to the mushroom carries both a reverence and a lightheartedness. His own exploration with plant medicine has fostered a deep appreciation for the wonder we discover in ourselves and the gift of our connection to our fellow travelers in our ever-changing world.

Simon Yugler

Therapist & Facilitator, MA, LPC-A

Simon Yugler

Therapist & Facilitator, MA, LPC-A

With a masters in depth counseling psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, Simon is a psychedelic psychotherapist from Portland, OR. Weaving together Jungian psychology, Internal Family Systems therapy, and mythology, Simon also draws on his diverse experiences learning from indigenous cultures around the world, including the Shipibo ayahuasca tradition of the Peruvian Amazon, the Native American Church, Australian Aboriginal peoples, and traditional African religions.

His master’s thesis focused on the potential for psychedelic medicines as a pathway for initiation and growth for men. With a background in anthropology and experiential education, he has led immersive journeys for young adults across 10 countries.

Simon is a writer for Psychedelics Today, and has spoken at the 2020 & 2021 Psilocybin Summit, and the 2021 Los Angeles Medicinal Psychedelics Society Symposium. Having worked with psychedelics for over half his life, Simon is passionate about helping his clients navigate the liminal wilds of the soul.

Tal Sharabi

Therapist, MA, LPC

Tal Sharabi

Therapist, MA, LPC

Tal is a somatically trained psychotherapist which emphasizes the body-mind connection. Licensed both in Colorado and in Oregon, Tal has practiced mindfulness for more than 20 years and uses mindfulness-based present moment methods, body-centered and trauma informed practices in her work. She collaborates with her clients in a holistic, non-judgmental, strength-based approach where the emphasis is to weave together a path towards wellbeing.

She is a graduate from the Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy and Research certificate program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, holds a certification of completion for the MAPS MDMA-assisted psychotherapy training for PTSD, parts A-D, and is also trained in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy from Polaris Insight Center. Tal is also certified in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Level 1. Tal has worked in the mental health field since 2015 in different capacities within private practice and community-based mental health. She works with clients who experience complex trauma, attachment wounds, addiction, grief, depression and anxiety.

Recently Tal journeyed through Central America and experienced plant medicine from ancient traditions who are keepers of this wisdom for many centuries where she learned how to honor community, the Earth and spirit in the path towards healing.

Tal’s work as a psychedelic psychotherapist is dedicated to enhancing connection, to self, other, community, and the world to create a more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.

Nickesha Strachan

Nurse & Facilitator, LPN

Nickesha Strachan

Nurse & Facilitator, LPN

Graduating from Hospicare Nursing Academy in Mandeville, Jamaica, Nickesha holds a Certificate in Practical Nursing. Nickesha has five-year experience as an Ambulance Emergency Nurse, has worked in nursing homes, clinics, daycares, and functions as the onsite nurse at football, cricket and other sporting events at the Breds Treasure Beach Sports Park.

She is also the leader of the Treasure Beach Community Response Team, (CDRT) and is always among the first on hand for hurricane and storm emergencies. Her warm personality, calming presence and personal experiences of healing with psilocybin help her fit her role as our nurse on site perfectly, and she now also helps on retreat as a facilitator.

Jonas Rosen

Facilitator, LMSW

Jonas Rosen

Facilitator, LMSW

Jonas is a licensed social worker who specializes in mindfulness-based therapies.

Ever since his first psilocybin experience, Jonas has been deeply passionate about the intersection of psychedelics and mental health. Over the past decade, psilocybin has helped him overcome anxiety, realize a profound sense of interconnection, and discover new life meaning and purpose.

Jonas has worked as a facilitator at MycoMeditations for over two years. Having repeatedly witnessed psychedelic healing in-action, Jonas is continually inspired by the power of psilocybin to help us self-actualize and grow to our fullest potential.

In 2020, Jonas founded a company named Inner Vision to provide education and compassionate support around the psychedelic experience. He is also creator of the YouTube channel, “Cosmic Consciousness with Jonas,” where he shares educational content around psychedelics, consciousness, and the mysteries of life.

Caterina Bragagnolo

Facilitator, ATR-BC, LCPC, CCTS-II

Caterina Bragagnolo

Facilitator, ATR-BC, LCPC, CCTS-II

Caterina is a Board Certified Art Therapist, Licensed Counselor and Clinical Trauma Specialist working in Chicago, Illinois.

After receiving a BFA in Oil Painting and a Masters in Art Therapy & Clinical Counseling from Adler University, Caterina focused on Program Development and increasing resources for teens and adolescents in Cook County Juvenile Detention Centers as well as The Haymarket Center’s Women and Children Programming. She went on to work within child & adolescent and adult residential mental health facilities, eventually choosing to focus on women’s issues and trauma resolution through art therapy in private practice.

Currently, Caterina’s work is in supporting survivors of complex trauma by facilitating individual and group art therapy sessions that focus on identifying resilience, skill building and processing difficult situations using art therapy interventions and somatic experiencing applications.

Caterina is also a practicing fine artist who enjoys working in her studio building a portfolio. Her work with MycoMeditations has shown her the healing potential of psilocybin and she is enthusiastic about art therapy being applied to psychedelic integration.

Shanika Sancroft

Operations Manager

Shanika Sancroft

Operations Manager

Shanika, a Treasure Beach local, is a trained social worker and a former employee of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in Jamaica. Shanika worked closely with the most vulnerable Jamaican populations, where she provided assessments, counseling and helped families cope with the challenges of living in a developing country.

Shanika also served as the Administrative Assistant at the Treasure Beach Destination Management Organization (DMO) a non-profit organization aiming to support the Treasure Beach community through the development of a sustainable and unique brand of ‘Community Tourism”. Through her training and passion for communal and personal wellness, Shanika is a cornerstone in our local outreach efforts in Treasure Beach and all of Jamaica.

Beccy Newman

Operations Manager

Beccy Newman

Operations Manager

Born and raised in the U.K., Beccy first joined MycoMeditations in 2019 as a facilitator. She was blown away to see the medicine in action and the positive effect it has on the lives of our guests.

After 2 years, she returned to work on our operations team. Beccy has many years of experience in hospitality and event planning and uses both her excellent logistics skills and naturally compassionate personality to give our guests the most comfortable and relaxing stay possible.

In addition to her work on the island with MycoMeditations, Beccy helps run a local charity called Likkle Swimmers, which teaches swimming lessons to members of our community of all ages free of charge.

Emilia Sabatowska

Therapist & Facilitator, LMHC

Emilia Sabatowska

Therapist & Facilitator, LMHC

Emilia is a licensed psychotherapist specializing in psychedelic integration and trauma-focused therapy. She uses mindfulness meditation and body-based approaches, to help clients access their healing potential. She has completed training in clinical hypnotherapy, ketamine assisted psychotherapy and various forms of meditation.

Emilia’s own experiences with psychedelics have fueled her commitment to supporting individuals who are exploring them for healing and personal growth. The transformation observed, both personally and in others, has been a big motivation for Emilia to do this work.

As an integration specialist, Emilia supports guests in processing any emotions and insights from the psilocybin sessions, to help facilitate lasting changes.

When not in Jamaica, Emilia manages a counseling practice focused on psychedelic education and support. She also enjoys travel and dance, as ways of nurturing her own personal growth.

Heba El Zoheery

Facilitator, M.Ed.

Heba El Zoheery

Facilitator, M.Ed.

Heba holds a Masters Degree of Education in School Counseling and a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Family Science. In addition to earning her two degrees, Heba has trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, focusing on trauma, depression and anxiety, and working with adolescents.

Heba has been with MycoMeditations since April 2021 and has continuously witnessed fundamental shifts in guests’ ways of being and thinking patterns. Through her time working with medicinal mushrooms, Heba recognizes the tremendous role that psilocybin continues to play in our evolution and feels honored to work with this medicine.

Outside of her time at MycoMeditations, Heba offers counseling services in Kingston, Jamaica. Heba also enjoys riding her bike, growing food, playing with her dogs, and listening to roots music.

Chris Nesbeth

Facilitator, MSc

Chris Nesbeth

Facilitator, MSc

Chris holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and is on track to complete his Master’s of Science degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of the West Indies in the summer of 2022. His approach to psychotherapy is rooted in the ideology of working collaboratively with clients in setting goals and making appreciable steps to achieving them in each session.

He routinely seeks out opportunities to increase his breadth and depth of knowledge in both classical and contemporary techniques and strategies of therapy in the service of tailoring his treatment to the unique needs and preferences of each client. His interests lie specifically in trauma-informed interventions for those having issues with processing past experiences that continue to cause them distress.

When not facilitating retreats at MycoMeditations, Chris conducts psychological assessments and offers psychotherapy at a group practice in Kingston, Jamaica. He also enjoys playing musical instruments, working out, reading, playing chess, playing video games and raising his terrier-mixed puppy.

Dan Such

Facilitator

Dan Such

Facilitator

Dan is one of the team’s more experienced facilitators. After starting out as a forager of culinary mushrooms in Ohio, he followed his intuition and began exploring psilocybin for his own healing, having struggled in the past with anxiety, addiction and existential angst. When Dan visited MycoMeditations as a guest in May 2018 it soon became apparent to the team that he possessed an exceptional ability to navigate the mushroom space. A relationship was soon established and Dan has been committed to assisting people on their psilocybin journeys ever since. Witnessing over a hundred people benefit from their retreats has reinforced his belief that psilocybin is a key tool for the planet’s wellbeing.

Dan is a gentle, grounding presence on retreats. He also brings his yoga experience to bear, helping individuals and groups keen to practice yoga in-between their psilocybin sessions and drawing from this knowledge during the facilitation process itself.

Armand LeComte

Facilitator

Armand LeComte

Facilitator

Armand is a mental health peer support specialist based in Portland, Oregon. He is passionate about helping others step into a more full, conscious, inspired life.

Armand is a United States Marine Corps combat veteran. Having served in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has seen how trauma and life circumstances drastically affect mental health. Having served in an infantry unit that suffered heavily from suicide, Armand experienced the shortcomings of the standard approach to mental health care. His own healing journey radically accelerated after his first encounter with psychedelics.

In addition to his work at MycoMeditations, Armand also works as a psychedelic integration coach for Heroic Hearts Project and is an ambassador of Veterans of War, both of which are non-profits dedicated to helping veterans heal through group plant medicine sessions.

He believes that the quality of our relationships plays a major role in the quality of our lives. It’s his mission to practice and teach healthy ways of communicating with and relating to ourselves and each other, thus fostering deeper, more loving, and more authentic relationships.

Debbie Sostman

Facilitator

Debbie Sostman

Facilitator

Debbie is a holistically trained, and somatic-trauma informed psychedelic facilitator.

Through her clinical experience at Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Center, Debbie holds a deep scientific foundation in the field of psychedelic medicine. Working as a professional trip-sitter and integration coach at Psychedelic Passage has led her to facilitating countless experiences across the United States. As the first legal psychedelic facilitation network in the nation, Debbie has been on the budding edge of cultivating highly intentional and personalized healing experiences with psychedelic medicine and trauma therapy. Her work facilitating high-dose psilocybin experiences at MycoMeditations has additionally provided her with an unparalleled experience with plant medicine, as well as a deep gratitude for the power of group therapy.

Trained in various modalities such as somatic trauma therapy, internal family systems, ashtanga yoga and mindfulness meditation, Debbie has gained a multi-disciplinary understanding of trauma, non-ordinary states of consciousness, and collective patterns within the human experience.

Outside of her work with plant medicine, Debbie is both a student and teacher of ashtanga yoga, an avid kundalini and breathwork practitioner, rock climber, hoop dancer, singer, and impassioned world traveler. She loves practicing the Spanish and Hebrew language, making jewelry, cooking plant-based meals, and most of all, laughing with her friends.

Marchell Burton

Nurse, BScN

Marchell Burton

Nurse, BScN

One of the newest team members, Marchell is registered nurse and a St. Elizabeth local. Marchell has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of the West Indies, Mona, where she recently graduated with First Class Honors.

Prior to joining MycoMeditations, Marchell worked with Optimacare Medical Company in Kingston, where she provided care in both general medical, and minor surgical procedures.

Throughout the course of her studies, her clinical rotations at the Bellevue Hospital and the University Hospital of the West Indies granted her the opportunity to work with and observe patients being treated for mental health issues, where contemporary psychiatric
services are provided.

Marchell has made a seamless transition here at MycoMeditations with both our guests and team. Her calm presence, pleasant persona, and down-to-earth nature make her the perfect addition to our team.

Dr. Janique Baldwin-Miller

Psychiatrist

Dr. Janique Baldwin-Miller

Psychiatrist

Dr. Baldwin-Miller is a graduate of the University of the West Indies. She earned the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB,BS) Degree and Doctor of Medicine in Psychiatry in 2011 and 2019 respectively. She has been employed by the Ministry of Health in Jamaica since 2011, which has led her to practice medicine in the primary and secondary care settings all across the island. Her special interests are in emergency psychiatry and psychiatry in the primary care setting.

Sidi Genus

Head of Cultivation

Sidi Genus

Head of Cultivation

Sidi is the Lead Cultivator for our sister company, Magnificent Mushrooms, and has been growing psilocybin mushrooms for over 5 years. Born and raised in Treasure Beach, Sidi was awarded an athletic scholarship to attend High School in the United States. From there, she went on to study nursing and criminology, and received her degree from Spring Hill College in Alabama.

Starting with MycoMeditations as a facilitator, Sidi realized her true passion and transitioned to cultivation full time in 2019. She has continued to broaden her knowledge and skillset by growing many types of mushrooms, including both psychedelic and gourmet strains.

Her training as a nurse gave her the skills to manage a spawn laboratory, taking on tasks such as sterile tissue culturing, spawn production and species cataloguing and identification.

Sidi’s passion for Mycology runs deep, and it shows in the quality of the mushrooms used on our retreats. She shows extreme pride in her work and is passionate about the healing the mushrooms bring to so many people.