Center for Psychedelic Therapies and Research Alumni Panel

Ask our alumni!

Discover the benefits of the Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research training at CIIS and hear real-life career outcomes. 

Join our alumni panel to meet several accomplished graduates of the certificate to learn about their work in the field after earning the certificate. This event is open to everyone.

Meet our Panelists

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Arlene Samen, APRN, is Founder and Chief Visionary Office of One Heart Worldwide. In 1997, after 35 years as a nurse practitioner specializing in maternal and fetal medicine, Arlene was asked by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to save the lives of mothers and their newborns in Tibet, where one in ten newborns were dying of preventable causes. In 2004, she left her clinical practice to found One Heart Worldwide. While working in Tibet, Arlene developed the “Network of Safety” model, which brings lifesaving care to the expectant mothers and infants where the need is the greatest. In 2009, One Heart World extended the model to remote villages in Nepal and the Copper Canyon of Mexico. In 2015, Arlene attended CIIS as one of the first Cohorts in Psychedelic Assisted Therapy. She has been a TA and mentor over the past three years and is now studying Palliative Care and volunteering at Novamind in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

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The Rev. Dr. Brian Rajcok is pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Avon, Connecticut. He earned a Bachelors in Theology from Valparaiso University and a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary. He earned his PhD in clinical mental health counseling from Neumann University where he wrote his dissertation titled The lived experience of professional mental health clinicians with spiritually significant psychedelic experiences. Brian is a graduate of the CIIS CPTR 2022 Boston cohort. Brian views psychedelics as a potential tool for healing and spiritual growth. He has a passion for mysticism, the study of consciousness, world religions, and the relationship between science and spirituality.

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Dr. Dawn DeCunha, CPsych, EdD, is a Clinical and Educational Psychologist with experience in trauma-informed care, working extensively with adults and families. She became a Lead Therapist in psilocybin clinical trials at CAMH in Toronto. With first-hand knowledge of the transformative potential of psychedelic psychotherapy for patients with TRD and PTSD. After the trials concluded, she integrated Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) into her practice. Today, she leads a multidisciplinary team, offering innovative, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies.

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Robert Koffman, MD, MPH, 2020 alum, is a Retired Navy Captain and the Senior Medical Adviser for Warrior Canine Connection. He currently serves as a board member of Wesana Health, is on the VETS’ Academic Advisory Board, the SEAL Future Foundation, and is the current Chair of the newly formed Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies. As a board-certified psychiatrist, psychiatric epidemiologist, and preventive medicine physician, he obtained his doctorate from the University of Santo Tomas, and his MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. Among his many clinical, operational, and leadership positions, he was Chief of Clinical Operations at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) aboard the Walter Reed campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and he was appointed as the Navy’s first head of Combat and Operational Stress Control (COSC). A disabled veteran himself, Koffman has dedicated himself to improving the delivery of mental health care in operational settings and is a passionate advocate for increasing access of non-stigmatizing psychological services. He is also a seasoned medical acupuncturist and recognized expert in Animal Assisted Therapies. Robert graduated from the 2020 CIIS CPTR program and is currently conducting research on treating depression in cancer patients with psilocybin, and is slated to soon begin MDMA-Assisted Therapy under FDA Expanded Access at the Bill Richards’ Center for Healing at the Aquilino Cancer Center. With passion, purpose, and commitment, Koffman hopes to champion these essential, healing modalities and medicines for service members and veterans.

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Vilmarie Fraguada Narloch, PsyD., is a licensed clinical psychologist focusing on integrated treatment of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders and psychedelic-assisted therapy. She is an activist working to end the War on Drugs and advocates for science and reality-based drug education and harm reduction approaches for all. She approaches her work from a harm reductionist and humanistic lens, focusing on the individual needs of the person, group, or community. She received a certificate in psychedelic therapies and research from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2018. She is the director of Drug Education at Students for Sensible Drug Policy and co-founder and director at Sana Healing Collective. 

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