The Deeper Work: Psilocybin, Psychedelic Research, and a Guided Retreat

Lori is a passionate advocate for creating lives of meaning and engagement in both the personal and professional realms. She is a senior faculty member at Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI), an organization born at Google, where she mentors and trains teachers, and designs and facilitates both in-person and virtual mindfulness based emotional intelligence programs.

Lori holds an MA in psychology and is a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, trained by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach through the Greater Good Science Center. She is currently involved in a 2-year project in Bhutan working in partnership with the Gross National Happiness initiative bringing SIYLI’s program to all levels of the Bhutanese government.

She is also curriculum contributor and facilitator at: LinkedIn, Purpose Blue, Wisdom Labs, Mindfulness Rx and the Mindfulness Training Institute, and leads nature-based mindfulness retreats at MEA, Esalen Institute, and Canyon Ranch.

A near fatal bicycle accident in her early 40’s triggered a humbling re-evaluation of her values, actions and identity. Recognizing that while our lives are short, our choices have a ripple effect on the world around us, Lori is committed to living in alignment with awareness, integrity and whole-heartedness – and dedicated to supporting others who desire to have a similar positive impact.

Neil is the co-founder and CEO of Beckley Retreats, a holistic wellbeing company that combines psychedelic science with contemplative practices to support lasting personal change. A former captain in the U.S. Army’s 2nd Ranger Battalion, Neil completed three combat deployments before studying at Columbia University and beginning his own recovery from PTSD and depression through mindfulness and psychedelics.

He later earned his certification in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and has taught hundreds of people around the world. Before founding Beckley Retreats, he worked at McKinsey & Company, where he co-led the firm’s internal mindfulness initiative, and later served as chief growth officer for a large private equity portfolio company. He is now completing a part-time master’s degree at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, studying integrative health programs and psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Anja is the chief operating officer of Beckley Retreats, where she leads the systems, teams, and processes behind each retreat experience. She focuses on building an organization that can grow responsibly while maintaining high standards of safety, care, and operational rigor.

Before joining Beckley, Anja built and scaled service businesses in complex, people-centered settings. At Ginkgo Bioworks, she grew a COVID biosecurity operation from launch to more than $300 million in annual revenue, serving over 5,300 organizations. She previously served as COO of Ballentine Partners and worked in venture capital and private equity. Anja holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. from the University of Maine. A longtime practitioner of yoga and meditation, she was drawn to Beckley by the emerging research on psilocybin and its potential to reduce suffering and support meaningful change.