Joel (he/him) graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with an M.A. in Clinical Psychology in May, 2024. He founded and was President of the Teachers College Interdisciplinary Psychedelic Society (TCIPS) during his time at Teachers College, and was awarded the Teachers College 2024 Impact Spotlight Honor for his work to destigmatize the topic of the psychedelic-assisted treatment approaches and psychedelic culture among scholars at TC and CU. His thesis, titled “Death to Bad Trips: Theorizing Challenging Psychedelic Experiences at the Intersection of Jungian Psychology & Vajrayana Buddhism”, is a definite benchmark for the direction of his professional journey. He intends to pursue a doctorate-level clinical psychology degree in the future to develop spiritually-informed psychedelic-assisted treatment frameworks that, like the sun’s light, are freely & abundantly accessible to all.

Prior to attending Teachers College, Joel received his B.A. in Psychological Science, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Connecticut in May 2021. After completing his undergraduate education, Joel held a Postgraduate Research Associate position at Yale’s School of Medicine, serving as the Lab Manager of the Race Equity and Addiction Lab in the Department of Psychiatry. During that year-long appointment, he was simultaneously administering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and serving as a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Lykos-sponsored, Expanded Access study of MDMA for treatment-resistant PTSD at the Behavioral Wellness Clinic. Throughout his education and previous professional endeavors; Joel also volunteered time, passion and energy as the Director of Finance for the Intercollegiate Psychedelics Network. Since 2017, Joel has also served in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Behavioral Health Specialist and underwent supervised clinical practicum as part of his training at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX. Joel enjoys writing and recording rap music, skateboarding, creating multi-media visual art, and studying Buddhist philosophy in his free time.