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SIMRAN SETHI - WASHINGTON DC

Simran Sethi is the founder of the Asian Psychedelic Collective. She is committed to expanding the dominant narratives around psychedelics: honoring the indigenous lineages that have stewarded earth medicines and inspired synthetic analogues, uplifting explorations into altered states (including meditation and breathwork) and entheogens that are part of Asian culture, and destigmatizing mental health and drug use within Asian communities. These medicines—and the healing, joy, and connection they can engender—are our birthright.

Drawing on her extensive background in journalism and academia and service as a birth doula and yoga teacher, Simran is a 2023 Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellow, researching a book on Asian mental health, altered states, and entheogenic healing. Her goal is to also build on her background and recent training as an end-of-life doula to offer specific support to elders, as well as immigrants and people of Asian descent working with psychedelics and integration as tools for personal growth, self-exploration, and support through life transitions.

Simran came to psychedelics through her own experiences with psilocybin and MDMA for severe depression and anxiety. She was part of the inaugural equity cohort at Fireside Project, providing free and confidential peer support to those actively working with a psychedelic or integrating a past psychedelic experience. As a member of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team at the American Psychedelic Practitioners Association, Simran reviewed and supported Professional Practice Guidelines for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy.

Named one of the “50 Most Influential Global Indians” by Vogue India and the “environmental messenger” by Vanity Fair, Simran has written for outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Guernica, and The Guardian; and serves as visiting faculty at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy. She was designated one of the top eight women saving the planet by Marie Claire, and is the author of Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love—named one of the best food books of 2016 by Smithsonian—about the loss of biodiversity in food and agriculture told through bread, wine, chocolate, coffee, and beer; the host and creator of The Slow Melt podcast, named Best Food Podcast by Saveur magazine; coauthor of Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy, winner of the 2008 Axiom Award for Best Business Ethics Book; and contributor to multiple anthologies.

Simran is a former contributor to the National Public Radio and was one of the first inductees into Heritage Radio Network’s Hall of Fame. She holds an M.B.A. in sustainable management from the Presidio Graduate School and graduated cum laude with a B.A. in sociology and women’s studies from Smith College, an institution that, in 2009, awarded her the Smith College Medal. She is currently completing a Master of Science in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology from the University of East London, with a focus on impacts of extraordinary states of consciousness (meditation, breathwork/pranayama, and psychedelics) on subjective well-being.