OPEN FOUNDATION TEAM

operational Team

JOOST BREEKSEMA, PhD

EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR

Co-founder. Leading strategy, vision, advocacy, scientific research, and more.

Ana
Martins

OPERATIONS
DIRECTOR

Holding a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Leiden University, Ana integrates clinical expertise with strategic and operational leadership across large-scale events and complex projects.

IULIA
RUSU

HEAD OF COMMUNITY & EVENTS

Multidisciplinary cultural practitioner combining event and community management with a programming approach informed by research and lived experiences.

Ray
yang

OPERATIONS AND PROJECT MANAGER

Currently studying Global Health at the University of Geneva with a focus on health systems research.

DAAN
KEIMAN

EDUCATION LEAD ADEPT

Psychedelic and Buddhist chaplain, neuroqueer, with a background in social sciences and a love for education.

Aref touleimat

STUDENT COORDINATOR ADEPT

Psychology graduate with a double-degree background in Business, committed to advancing psychedelic therapy through seamless coordination and detail-driven support.

Ben van Arem

Financial Administrator

Strong background in finance, pursuing a second master in psychology, writing a thesis on psychedelic therapy. Facilitating the OPEN Foundation’s growth through financial administration.

lara
ferreira

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Holding an MBA in Digital Marketing, Lara brings extensive experience in strategic marketing across international organisations. She currently works as Marketing & Communications Manager at OPEN Foundation.

Join the OPEN Team

Volunteers

CAROLINA LUTHMAN

OPERATIONS & COMMUNITY

FIONA KLAASSEN

SUPPORT & COMMUNITY

NOAH
CLARK

WEB DEVELOPER & ONLINE EVENTS

PEI Wu

WEB DEVELOPER

cato
de vos

PROGRAMMING

FLOOR
VAN DER DOES

PROGRAMMING

Gustaf Palm

NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTOR

STEPHAN
TAP

CONTENT WRITER

Astrid Lewillie

COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT

RAOUL
KONING

FINANCE & LOGISTICS

FLORIS WOLSWIJK

COLLABORATOR

Lisa Tamez

Community Support

Bas Minnema

Lead Journal Club

Sogol Fereydouni

Social media contributor

Georgia Kareola

Newsletter CONTRIBUTOR

Lucas Noronha

Privacy & Data Protection Specialist

Join us in responsibly shaping psychedelic research and therapy

BOARD

prof. WIM VAN DEN BRINK, MD, PHD

CHAIR

Vice Chair of the State Commission MDMA in the Netherlands.
Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Addiction, AMC, University of Amsterdam. Scientific Director of the National Committee for Treatment of Heroin Addiction in the Netherlands.

Prof. PATRICIA PISTERS, PhD

SECRETARY

Professor of film at the Department of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam, founding editor of the Open Access journal Necsus.

Prof. Michiel van Elk, PhD

TREASURER

Associate professor, researcher, and supervisor of the Psychedelic, Religious, Spiritual, and Mystical Experiences Lab at Leiden University.

ERWIN KREDIET, MSC

BOARD MEMBER

Psychedelic researcher and therapist at ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, and PhD candidate at Leiden University Medical Center.

Renske Blom, MD

BOARD MEMBER

Psychiatrist at NPI and Arkin, Lead therapist in the P-TRD psilocybin trial.

icpr 2024 volunteers

We are pretty awesome 😉

CLINICAL ADVISORY BOARD

The OPEN Foundation has a clinical and scientific advisory board consisting of a wide array of experts in the field with decades of experience.

Bill Richards, PHD

Psychologist at Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, He also is associated with the Program in Psychedelic Therapies and Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies and psychedelic research and with Sunstone Therapies.

ROSALIND WATTS, PHD

Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Lead for Imperial College London’s psilocybin trial, and Clinical Director at Synthesis Institute. Dr Watts builds tools and structures to foster connectedness after psychedelic experiences with a focus on integration.

PETER GASSER, MD

Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, President of Swiss Medical Society for Psycholytic Therapy, Dr Gasser conducted a pilot study with LSD-assisted psychotherapy from 2007 to 2012 which was the first therapeutic study with LSD after the worldwide ban of the substance in the 1970s.

TORSTEN PASSIE, MD, MA

Professor of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Hannover Medical School, Germany. Medical dissertation on existential psychiatry. Visiting Professor at the Department of Psychiatry of the Harvard Medical School.

ROBERT SCHOEVERS, MD, PHD

Professor of Psychiatry, Epidemiologist, and Head of the Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands. Research focuses on depressive disorder epidemiology, mechanisms, and treatment.

Janis phelps, PHD

Professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and former dean of the School of Consciousness & Transformation at CIIS. Her role now is the Director of the CIIS Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research.

Tijmen Bostoen, MD

Tijmen Bostoen, M.D., Psychiatrist and Pharmacist. Specializes in PTSD treatment with pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Works at ARQ Centrum '45. Co-Investigator and Study Therapist in MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD trial.

Marc Aixala, MS

Licensed Health Psychologist, Psychotherapist, Holotropic Breathwork facilitator, Author, and a member of the staff for Grof Transpersonal Training. He coordinates support services at the ICEERS. Marc works as a psychedelic therapist in MDMA and psilocybin clinical trials.

Michael Mithoefer, MD

Psychiatrist, Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Affiliate Assistant Professor at MUSC, and Clinical Assistant Professor at Columbia University. Medical Monitor for Phase 2 trials, completed the first MAPS-sponsored Phase 2 clinical trial testing with MDMA with the help of his wife, Annie. Since 2012, they have conducted training for research therapists, and are now supervising therapists in ongoing MAPS clinical trials.

Heval Özgen, MD, PHD

Psychiatrist, research coordinator of i-psy (intercultural psychiatry department), and board member of the Transcultural Psychiatry section of the Dutch Psychiatric Association (NvVP).

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD

The OPEN Foundation has a clinical and scientific advisory board consisting of a wide array of experts in the field with decades of experience.

PROF ERIC VERMETTEN, MD, PHD

Professor Medical-Biological and Psychiatric Aspects of Psychotrauma, LUMC University of Leiden, the Netherlands. Coordinator of the training programme for MAPS studies of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD in the Netherlands.

MENDEL KAELEN, PHD

Post-doctoral neuroscientist at Imperial College London, United Kingdom. Founder And CEO of Wavepaths, a company that researches and develops methods that leverage the psychotherapeutic potential of music.

PROF WOUTER HANEGRAAFF, PHD

Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and related currents at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The first President of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism.

WIM BEST, PharmD

Eur Reg Tox Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht Pharmacist and toxicologist (forensic and risk assessment) member of international committees and working groups for risk assessment and drugs monitoring.

STEPHEN SNELDERS, phd

Researcher at the Descartes Center for the History of Science and Philosophy of Science at Utrecht University. Research fellow at the Faculty of Science, Freudenthal Institute.

Josjan Zijlmans, phd, msc

Post-doc at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Amsterdam University Medical Center.

Jan Ramaekers, PhD

Professor and Head of the Psychopharmacology Department, Maastricht University.

Brigitte Adriaensen, PhD

Professor of Hispanic Studies at Radboud University.

Gemma Blok, PhD

Professor in the history of mental health and culture at the Open University.