Advisors
PYRC's advisors are a community of researchers, clinicians, public health and nonprofit leaders, legal counsel, and longtime friends of the work. Their guidance informs everything from the design of our research protocols to the ethics of our offerings.
Josh Lipson, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and psychedelic researcher based at the Emory Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality. He earned his doctorate at Columbia University, with a dissertation called "Modeling the diverse trajectories of psychedelic-occasioned mystical experiences", advised by Dr. Lisa Miller and in collaboration with Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris. He currently runs a project studying the factors that predict psychedelic-related difficulties, as well as effective remedies and integration approaches. He also writes on a wide range of topics at Whitmanic, and moonlights as a poet and historical geneticist.
Cate Jester, MA, LMHC, is a grounded psychospiritual counselor, breakthrough coach, and creative strategist. Cate received her MA in mental health counseling from NYU, BA from Brown in International Relations, and certifications in psychedelic-assisted therapy, applied positive psychology, master shamanic reiki, and laughter yoga.
Her 15+ years of training includes clinical work as a psychedelic research therapist, multiple modalities of holistic practice, Indigenous teacher plant lineages, transpersonal psychology, and metaphysical philosophy. Cate’s unique approach also leverages a background in education technology, games, and comedy production. As creator of BS-FreeLife.com, Cate is committed to offering bold space for exploration, insight, and meaningful action.
She is the author of two books and is currently working on her third about how to hack reality with humor. Cate offers holistic support via individual sessions, groups, and workshops. She is a passionate advocate for inclusive community that honors diverse identities, safe practices, and authentic wellbeing.
Robert Rush is an attorney and policy advocate whose work bridges law, science, and individual liberty in the evolving landscape of psychedelic and drug policy reform. He
operates an independent practice, representing scientists, facilitators, healing centers, entheogenic churches, advocacy organizations, non-profits, and emerging businesses.
Rush is also the founder of the Rights and Reason Project, a public-interest initiative dedicated to advancing cognitive liberty, evidence-based drug policy, and constitutional
accountability within administrative and criminal law. His work emphasizes the intersection of civil rights, cognitive liberty, and individual and scientific freedom, challenging administrative overreach and seeking to ensure that public policy reflects
reason rather than fear.
In 2024, Rush co-led the groundbreaking challenge against the DEA’s proposed scheduling of DOI and DOC - one of the most consequential administrative hearings in modern drug policy. His broader practice includes advising on business development, risk management, cannabis and hemp law, and the development of equitable frameworks for emerging natural medicines. Rush regularly speaks on law, policy, and science at the forefront of reform, working to create a rational and humane legal system that honors both empirical evidence and individual rights.
Logina Mostafa, MPH is a public health practitioner, educator, and community organizer whose work centers the body as a site of healing, liberation, and transformation. She holds a Master of Public Health in Policy & Management from NYU School of Global Public Health, where her research focused on equity in access to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and a BA in Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies and Global Health Studies from the University of Iowa.
A former Fellow at the Center for Psychedelic Public Health and a member of the People of Color Psychedelic Collective and the Psychedelic Alliance for Healing Justice, Logina has spent over a decade working at the intersection of expanded states, somatic practice, and community care. She has facilitated intentional cannabis use and embodied movement workshops nationally and has contributed to publications including Sex and Psychedelics Magazine.
Her writing on psychedelic public health has appeared in Psychedelic Alpha, where she has advocated for equity, Indigenous stewardship, and community-rooted approaches to psychedelic access and harm reduction.Logina is the founder of Queering Existentialism, an NYC-based education and connection initiative that co-creates containers for somatic healing, harm reduction, and communal secure attachment — exploring how altered and expanded states support the unlearning of internalized oppression and the reclamation of embodied identity.
She serves as Head of Community at Violette, a data-secure, encrypted platform that gives healing and psychedelic communities a protected space to connect and organize free from surveillance and censorship. She is also a board member of Tarab NYC, a community wellbeing organization serving LGBTQ Arab and SWANA communities, and a Stewardship Circle member of the Root and Bloom Institute, a psychedelic somatic therapy center based in Berkeley, CA.
Josh Barocas is an early literacy leader and member of the PYRC’s advisory board. He began his career performing as a bass player in clubs across New York City and beyond before transitioning into laboratory work and, ultimately, education. Josh spent seven years as a classroom teacher (grades 1–3) and reading specialist, developing deep expertise in early literacy development and the broad range of psychological and linguistic research that powers great teaching of young readers.
In his current role as Senior Director of Early Literacy at LINC, he focuses on innovating new approaches to early literacy with a special emphasis on strengthening family–school relationships and strengthening NYC’s literacy ecosystem. Josh is a husband, a father of two and a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, NY.