TRICIA EASTMAN
convener
Tricia Eastman, a medicine woman with mestiza roots and a decade of study and initiations in the Bwiti tradition, bridges ancient wisdom with modern relevance. As founder of Ancestral Heart, she advocates for indigenous rights and environmental stewardship at global forums, including Stanford University's d.school, World Economic Forum events, and the G20 India 2023 summit where she supported the Kogi Kaggaba of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in global policy work. Eastman worked on the ASSEGAIA global sacred sites protection declaration, and supports indigenous-led Iboga conservation in Gabon. Her upcoming book, "Seeding Consciousness" (2024), explores plant medicine and ancestral wisdom. Eastman is developing the HU Azores wellness retreat center, set to open in 2026, fostering dialogue between indigenous wisdom keepers and thought leaders on contemporary issues of the metacrisis .
RUTENDO NGARA
ADVISOR
Rutendo Ngara is an African Indigenous Knowledge Systems holder and transdisciplinary researcher. She is a practitioner of a number of physical disciplines, including Dance, Yoga and Wushu/Kung Fu/Tai Ji. Ngara has represented South Africa as an international silver medallist in the latter. Rutendo serves on a number of boards, including the Credo Mutwa Foundation (as Chairperson), the South African Wushu Federation, and the ASSEGAIA Alliance for protection of sacred sites. She holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering, an MSc in Medicine in Biomedical Engineering, and is pursuing a doctorate in Philosophy of Education. The quest for harmony, healing the whole, co-existence and complementary underpins her endeavors.
JOSEPH BARSUGLIA
ADVISOR
Dr. Joseph Peter Barsuglia is a clinical and research psychologist and advisor for Journey Collab and Lionheart Ventures, two start ups that are leading reciprocity models with indigenous plants and traditions. He has worked as therapist in the MAPS MDMA-Assisted psychotherapy trials and as Research Director at Crossroads ibogaine clinic where published observational research on ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT.