Nick Kent is an educator and advocate working in harm reduction and drug policy reform. A school teacher by trade, Nick began researching school drug education policies and leading Students for Sensible Drug Policy Australia in his mid 20's, and has since worked at local, state, national and international levels across various drug policy areas, projects and organisations.

Stu Hatton is a writer/editor who lives on Dja Dja Wurrung country, near Castlemaine, Victoria. He’s a member of the Australian Psychedelic Society (APS), contributing to their Goldfields and Melbourne chapters, and has served on the APS committee. He is also a managing editor and moderator for the online harm reducation community Bluelight. He’s been attending EGA since 2008.

Sianna-Rose ‘Pixie’ Miller is the founder of Psychedelically Aware, a harm minimisation group, and The PATCH – The Psychedelically Aware Talking Circle Hub. Having studied psychology and health science with a focus on neuroscience, she possesses a comprehensive understanding of how entheogens impact both the body and mind. Pixie is passionate about research and the potential therapeutic applications of entheogens. Currently, her pursuit of harm minimisation through Psychedelically Aware and The PATCH has led to ongoing community discussions and education.

Tom Forrest is one of the world’s most respected experts in cannabis industry and a global leader in medicinal cannabis. As the first-ever Churchill Fellow for cannabis agronomy, Tom has authored a landmark white paper on behalf of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, on cannabis botany, global cultivation practices and emerging market trends.

Vince Polito is a Senior Lecturer, and leads the Altered States Lab in the School of Psychological Sciences at Macquarie University. Vince has a keen interest in understanding how altered states of consciousness can impact on cognition and mental health, and he and his students have studied hypnosis, states of flow, meditation, yoga, chanting, virtual reality, religious rituals and psychosis.
Vince is best known for his work on microdosing psychedelics. He is developing a psychedelic research program at Macquarie that includes the world’s first magnetoencephalography (MEG) study of microdosing, and is leading one of Australia’s largest psychedelic clinical trials, which will investigate low doses of psilocybin as a potential treatment for depression.

Mickey Space is a senior yoga teacher, breathwork facilitator, and ceremonial guide with over 1000 hours of formal yoga training and more than a decade of experience sharing transformative embodiment practices. He specialises in breath-led journeys that weave together the ancient science of pranayama with modern somatic wisdom and sound healing.

Dr Verity Litten is a Clinical and Counselling psychologist and a freelance academic based in Perth, Western Australia. With over a decade’s worth of experience working across a range of therapeutic settings in both the public and private sector, Verity’s research and clinical expertise focuses on neurodivergence, complex trauma, addiction, personality, and gender and sexual identity. Drawing on her background in humanistic, existential, and trauma-informed approaches to mental health, Verity is a strong advocate for therapeutic models that validate personal narratives and social context.

Tobias Penno is an academic and lecturer in Social Work at the University of Western Australia (U.W.A). His first academic publication titled ‘How Ayahuasca Offers Psychosocial Wellbeing’ won the social work research prize in the school of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science at U.W.A. in 2017. Tobias co-founded the Australian Psychedelic Society WA Chapter with Dr. Stephen Bright, and co-ordinates the Mental Health Professional Network’s local Psychedelic Community of Practice.

Jef Baker is a committee member of The Australian Psychedelic Society (APS) and the Sydney Chapter Lead. With a long-standing interest in psychoactive plants and compounds, Jef completed an Honours thesis examining the philosophy of Deep Ecology within Ayahuasca discourse at SCU in 2015. 

Co-Director, Anam Cara Centre for Psychedelics and Contemplative Therapies | Chair, AMAPP | Founder & Director, Signs of Life Psychology

Dr. Alana (Lani) Roy is Co-Director of the Anam Cara Centre for Psychedelics and Contemplative Therapies and Chair of the Australian Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Practitioners (AMAPP). She is also the Founder and Director of The Signs of Life Psychology and has dedicated more than 15 years to mental health, trauma, suicide prevention, sexual abuse, family violence, disability, and harm reduction.

Melissa Warner is a multidisciplinary researcher, educator, technologist, and artist inspired by the intersection of neuroscience, contemplative science, extended reality, and psychedelic-therapy. As a Research Fellow at The Intangible Realities Laboratory and Swinburne University, she explores how altered states such as psychedelics, meditation and virtual reality can foster wisdom and well-being. In her role as Secretary of the research charity Psychedelic Research in Science and Medicine (PRISM), Melissa has supported Australia’s first clinical trials of psilocybin and MDMA.

Tanya Loos is a field naturalist, educator and science communicator living in central Victoria, who is passionate about nature. Whether it be via writing, radio or giving presentations Tanya loves drawing from ecological science to educate and inspire people to care about wildlife and wildlife habitat.

In 2023 she published Daylesford Nature Diary: a six season guide to the foothill forests. In 2024, Tanya was thrilled to launch her book about fostering coexistence with our "earth mates" here in Australia: Living with Wildlife: a guide for our homes and backyards.

Nicola Gracie is a high school dropout turned lifelong student who recently completed her second Master’s degree in Therapeutic Arts Practice at the MIECAT Institute. Her thesis and final year of studio time explored how therapeutic arts practices can support the integration of expanded states of consciousness, particularly those accessed through ceremonial plant medicine. Her work sits at the intersection of creativity, emotional intelligence, and community healing, with a deep commitment to arts-based research.

Sarah Hunnisett is the artist behind Empress Moth, a botanical textile studio rooted in a love of plants, colour, and quiet magic. For over a decade she has explored eco-printing, refining ways to capture the delicate imprints of leaves on natural fibres. Her work celebrates sustainability and slow craft, but also a deeper calling – to live creatively and in harmony with nature, and to share that sense of freedom and wonder through wearable art and hands-on workshops.

I first met mushrooms in art class, when my teacher brought a collection of wild specimens for still-life drawing. That quiet fascination grew over the years and, after a personal health crisis, led me to take my medical needs into my own hands. With a background in working with plants and fungi, I turned to the medicinal properties of mushrooms.

Leia Wren, Ph.D., MaLT(Sec), is an educator with a background in medical research and a strong interest in environmental science. She currently teaches Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science, combining scientific understanding with a hands-on appreciation for the natural world. At EGA, Leia will be running nature-based workshops for children that encourage curiosity, creativity, and connection to the living environment through playful, science-informed exploration.

Fahim is a collector and parent of some the worlds’ most prized San Pedro clones. Fahim’s work Trichocereus program emphasises habitat plants, unique mutations, T. terscheckii and other ‘giant’ cacti, as well as of course medicinal cultivars.

Dafna Kronental is a qualified psychotherapist, yoga and meditation instructor, and lecturer in counselling. Over the past six years, she has worked both privately and with clients at The Indigo Project, a psychology practice known for its innovative approach to wellbeing. With a background in community mental health, Dafna is also certified in psychedelic-assisted therapy and regularly supports clients with psychedelic integration.

I am a member of the British Stolen Generations. Since the nineteenth century, Britain has been trafficking children — racially categorised as “Good British Stock” — to its occupied colonies. Innocent children were forcibly recruited as tools of colonial policy. It is now acknowledged that many of us were misled to believe our parents had died. I can personally attest to the falsehood of the official claim that all child migrants were orphans. We were taken directly from our parents in 1949. I was ten, my sister was eight, and my brother was six. We became wards of the Victorian State. My brother never recovered.

Annaliese Hordern is a facilitator, ceremonialist and plant lover dedicated to cultivating relationships with plants through propagation, conservation and everyday meaningful connection. Inspired by practical visionaries such as Vandana Shiva, the Seed Savers Network and Dan Schreiber at Star Seed Gardens, who she presented ‘Sacred Plant Propagation’ with at Somara, Annaliese weaves practical ecological skills with ethnobotanical traditions that honour the deep bond between plants and people.