Speaking of Psychedelics: Science, Healing, and Ethical Innovation with Ibogaine

Ashwin Budden, PhD is a medical anthropologist and independent global health advisor (Principal, D’EVA Consulting) and was a Research Fellow in Bioethics at Harvard Medical School (2024-5). Dr. Budden has two decades of experience in health systems, policy, and community-based research and evaluation in nearly twenty countries. His work has focused on access, quality, and equity in vaccine and pharmaceutical delivery, reproductive and maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, and integrated primary health care programs. He has collaborated with and advised the Gates Foundation, Gavi, NIH, USAID, WHO, and the World Bank and their grantees. Dr. Budden also works on bioethics and policy in biodiversity and genomics research and innovation for public health. He co-leads an initiative of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health focusing on ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of pathogen genomic data sharing for pandemic security and a Harvard-funded project on responsible innovation in psychedelic therapies. In addition Dr. Budden supports Veterans' resilience and recovery through paddlesports with Team Riverrunners and Wounded Warriors Project.

Jonathan Dickinson is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Ambio Life Sciences. One of the world’s leading experts on ibogaine, Jonathan brings over 15 years of experience in clinical care, traditional practice, and psychedelic research to his leadership at Ambio. A Mexico-licensed psychologist and former Executive Director of the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance, he authored the field’s foundational safety guidelines and has published widely on ibogaine’s therapeutic, cultural, and ecological significance. He holds the only active export license for Tabernanthe iboga root, a threatened plant source for ibogaine, led the first Nagoya-compliant export from Gabon, and was initiated into the Dissoumba/Fang tradition of Bwiti in 2014 and the Missoko tradition in 2022. He has co-authored peer-reviewed research on ibogaine’s potential for trauma, TBI, pain, MS, and Parkinson’s. At Ambio, he leads strategy, research, and innovation – advancing a globally scalable model of care that bridges tradition, science, and integrity.

Yann Guignon is a Franco-Gabonese consultant specializing in intercultural mediation, sustainable development, and the governance of biological resources and traditional knowledge. He is the founder of the NGO Blessings of the Forest (BOTF), where he works on implementing the Nagoya Protocol in Gabon, supporting community-led cultural and natural heritage conservation, developing alternatives to poaching through ethical value chains for non-timber forest products, including Tabernanthe iboga.

In 2025, he was appointed International Coordinator of the Gabonese National Association Maghanga Ma Nzambé, responsible for the conservation of the Bwiti Missoko tradition and traditional medicine practices.

With more than two decades of field experience, and long-standing initiation into several traditional rites—particularly Bwiti Missoko—he operates at the interface of indigenous knowledge systems, public policy, and international research. His expertise is regularly sought in global discussions on biodiversity governance, the protection of traditional knowledge, and ethical frameworks for emerging psychedelic therapies.

Amber Capone has a history of fixing, building, and tenaciously seeking solutions to complex challenges. In 2019, she chose to walk away from a successful career as a top-producing real estate agent in order to pursue her most critical work yet, serving as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS). As her own personal and professional life began to unravel upon her husband Marcus’ separation from the military, she became determined not to become a victim, but to pursue victory for her own family, as well as countless others who are suffering. Amber possesses a heart for serving others, and a steadfast determination to make a difference.

W. Bryan Hubbard is the Chief Executive Officer of Americans for Ibogaine. He previously served as the first Chairman and Executive Director of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission and as Special Counsel and Executive Director in the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control. His state leadership roles also included Commissioner of the Department of Income Support, overseeing Social Security Disability and Child Support Enforcement, as well as membership on the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health, the Child Support Guidelines Commission, and the Office of Drug Control Policy’s Recovery Ready Communities Advisory Council. He has appeared widely in media, including on the Joe Rogin show.