PIR® Board of Directors
Personal recovery depends on fellowship unity
The mission of PIR® is to educate and support the addiction recovery community for individuals to have a safe space to explore addiction recovery options. The Board of Directors serves as the steward of the organization’s mission, legal responsibilities, and long-term sustainability. Guided by PIR®’s primary purpose, to carry a message of recovery to anyone who may be seeking or in need of it, the Board supports the fellowship by providing oversight, continuity, and strategic direction in response to community need.
About Us
The Board of Directors is the governance body of Psychedelics in Recovery™ (PIR®), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals in recovery who are interested in mindful, responsible engagement with psychedelics within a recovery-oriented framework.
The Board does not manage the day-to-day operations of PIR®‘s recovery meetings or speak on behalf of individual members. Instead, it exists to provide structure, continuity, and accountability—supporting the fellowship while respecting the autonomy of committees and the lived experience of members.
Board service is rooted in humility, responsibility, and service, reflecting PIR®’s commitment to ethical leadership and recovery-centered values.
Meet the PIR® Board of Directors:
Kevin has been committed to the intention of developing healthier relationships with psychoactive compounds since 2010. During an ibogaine treatment for opioid use disorder in 2011, he found the capacity to become honest, open-minded, and willing to engage in Twelve Step recovery. Kevin became a member of Narcotics Anonymous following treatment and later joined Alcoholics Anonymous. He has participated as a homegroup member and service volunteer in both programs.
In 2015, Kevin became involved in an informal meetup of people seeking a safe and independent space to engage in recovery-style meetings in which topics related to psychedelics were permitted. He served as the meeting coordinator and occasional chairperson. By late 2015/early 2016, this informal meetup established a group conscience to adopt the lineage of Twelve Step recovery and sought to embrace the wisdom of those programs while attracting members either in, or qualifying for, any other Twelve Step fellowship who had an interest in psychedelics. This group became known as Psychedelics in Recovery™.
The PIR® NYC group adopted a minimalist approach to codifying foundational resources for meeting facilitation, and Kevin served as the primary writer, editor, and review facilitator of the PIR® Preamble and the Guiding Principles documents, trusting that, over time, a diversity of perspectives would find their way to PIR and broaden participation in the development of additional materials.
In January 2017, Kevin organized a public event in New York City where the concept of exploring the synergy of Twelve Step recovery augmented by psychedelics was presented. That April, he hosted a PIR® community forum at the Psychedelic Science conference in San Jose, California. There, a group conscience led to the launch of PIR®’s first online meeting, which became known as The OG Group, the fellowship’s longest-running meeting.
As a result of the global lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring and summer of 2020, PIR® saw rapid growth in its membership due to increased demand for online recovery support. Kevin helped launch the Intergroup forum and GSR Committee to encourage group-level service, and began a formal process for pursuing nonprofit incorporation with the 501c(3) committee in December, 2020.
After three years of thoughtful and deliberate exploration of pursuing nonprofit status for PIR®, Kevin facilitated the formation of the founding board by engaging with the fellowship’s service body to present a preliminary vision for the growth and sustainability of the organization as a leading resource for the coming medicalization of psychedelics and for supporting people navigating recovery journeys.
Alongside Rick B. and Erin S., the inaugural Board of Directors registered PIR® with the Colorado Secretary of State, opened a bank account to secure the fellowship’s treasury, and received 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Kevin has participated in untold hours of advocacy, public speaking, research and policy consultation, and outreach, conveying his lived experience as a person in recovery and in organizational leadership.
Kevin’s program of recovery includes incorporating aspects of Twelve Step recovery, harm reduction philosophy, peer support, and personal spiritual practice.
Erin S. is a Person in Recovery whose formal recovery journey began in 2013 in Alcoholics Anonymous in Miami, Florida. During her early recovery, she worked the Steps with a sponsor, held multiple service positions, and sponsored others. In 2017, after feeling her recovery had plateaued, she began intentionally exploring plant medicines while remaining actively connected to recovery supports, including AA, SMART Recovery, and Recovery Dharma.
Erin found Psychedelics in Recovery (PIR) in 2019 following a particularly meaningful ayahuasca ceremony and sought community at the intersection of recovery, spirituality, and plant medicine. She quickly became deeply involved in service, including co-founding and chairing the San Diego in-person PIR meeting, which launched in December 2019. Between 2020 and 2022, she supported PIR during a period of rapid growth, frequently serving as a chair and host while helping maintain continuity and core organizational systems.
Over the years, Erin has served PIR in numerous capacities, including founding and chairing the first PIR Women’s Meeting (launched April 2020 and chaired for 1.5 years), supporting the launch of additional meetings, chairing the inaugural Literature Committee, serving as Chair and Secretary of Intergroup, and contributing as a committee member, moderator, inbox support volunteer, speaker organizer, GSR, and operational support volunteer. She also initiated, produced, and organized PIR’s first two in-person retreats in 2021 and 2022.
Outside of PIR, Erin contributes to the broader recovery and psychedelic harm-reduction community as a volunteer peer support specialist with the Fireside Project (since 2022) and with the Zendo Project at Burning Man (since 2023). In 2025, she presented on panels at MAPS’ Psychedelic Science conference – “Reimagining Recovery: Psychedelics, Substance Use, and the Future of Healing” – and at the NADTA Annual Conference on “The Intersections of Psychedelics and Drama Therapy,” exploring recovery-oriented, relational, and clinical perspectives on psychedelic work.
As Treasurer, Erin brings decades of experience stewarding funds for mission-driven organizations. She has served on multiple nonprofit boards and has produced and managed community-based fundraisers across the Eastern Seaboard, with a focus on transparency, sustainability, and care for collective resources. Her approach to financial services emphasizes trust, accountability, and alignment with organizational values.
Erin recently completed a Master of Arts degree Summa Cum Laude in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Drama Therapy and integrates creative, relational, and harm-reduction-informed perspectives into her work and service.
Three years into an abstinence-based recovery program, Anne encountered psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted therapy, and through this exploration discovered PIR®.
This marked the beginning of a profound spiritual journey of healing and self-inquiry that deepened her understanding of recovery and expanded her sense of service. Her recovery path led her to the Amazon on an ethnobotanical expedition, where she immersed herself in traditional and ceremonial contexts of plant medicines. This experience ultimately brought her into academic research settings, including her current role as a consultant on the Psilopioid clinical trial at Imperial College London, examining the role of psilocybin in opioid relapse. She has since been contributing to additional research initiatives with the University of Exeter and the University of Hertfordshire.
In 2023, she started the first face-to-face PIR® meeting in the UK, initially hosted in her living room. As the fellowship grew, the meeting moved to a larger venue, and late in 2025 we established a London-based Women’s Meeting to further support inclusivity and peer connection within the community.
She is deeply passionate about carrying the message of recovery and about the careful, ethical, and integration of psychedelics within ceremonial and therapeutic contexts. Having witnessed many stories of healing, this commitment became the core motivation behind founding the PIR® Public Relations Committee, with the intention of carrying the message to those who still suffer out there.
Karyn was first introduced to 12 Step Recovery in 2000 in Poughkeepsie, New York, and
relocated to South Florida in 2002. After navigating the halfway house system, she became
deeply involved in the Mid Coast Region of Narcotics Anonymous, where she served in multiple
trusted servant roles, including Literature Chair, Vice Chair, and Regional Chair. Through this
service, Karyn developed a strong foundation in the Twelve Traditions and had the privilege of
traveling throughout South Florida as a speaker, sharing experience, strength, and hope around
unity, service, and fellowship. Her years in NA shaped her understanding of recovery as a living,
communal process grounded in accountability and care for others.
Following a relapse in late 2016, Karyn faced the painful reality of starting over in recovery,
carrying deep shame and struggling to find the support she needed. In 2018, she discovered
psychedelics while seeking healing from an eating disorder—an area in which she has since
found lasting recovery. Her path toward sustained freedom from alcohol unfolded more
gradually, and in late 2022 she began working with a plant medicine therapist using psilocybin.
When she attended her first Psychedelics in Recovery meeting in 2023, she immediately felt at
home. PIR offered both fellowship and freedom, bridging her long-standing recovery roots with
new tools for healing. Stepping into service within PIR® felt like coming full circle—an
opportunity to bring decades of experience in traditional recovery spaces into a growing
community that honors both tradition and transformation.
With over 20 years of experience in addiction, mental health, and recovery services, David brings a deeply integrated perspective shaped by both professional leadership and lived experience. His background includes work across detox, residential treatment, sober living, intervention services, outpatient care, and family recovery coaching, supporting thousands of individuals and families in finding sustainable paths to wellness.
In addition to nearly 30 years of personal recovery, his approach blends traditional recovery principles with trauma-informed, clinical, and nontraditional frameworks. He has extensive experience supporting complex and dual-diagnosis clients and is known for emphasizing dignity, self-understanding, and individualized recovery rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.
For more than 15 years, David has also worked extensively in the psychedelic and consciousness-exploration space, both personally and professionally, engaging with plant medicines, journey work, spiritual frameworks, and integration-focused approaches within a recovery-oriented ethic. His involvement reflects a long-standing commitment to responsible, mindful engagement that prioritizes safety, humility, and recovery values.
With his extensive knowledge of the early history of Alcoholics Anonymous, and the growing pains endured by the fledgling organization in its early years, David joined the inaugural Board initially in an advisory capacity, later clarified as a non-voting Member At-Large. He continues to support the fellowship through service grounded in ethics, lived experience, and respect for member autonomy. His board service is rooted in stewardship, accountability, and the belief that recovery — like the people it serves — must remain diverse, compassionate, and deeply human.
Our responsibilities
GOVERNANCE & OVERSIGHT
Ensuring PIR® operates in alignment with its mission, bylaws, and nonprofit obligations, including fiduciary, legal, and ethical responsibilities.
STRATEGIC DIRECTION
Providing long-term vision and guidance to support PIR®’s growth, sustainability, and evolving service needs.
ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT
Supporting committees, officers, and trusted servants by clarifying roles, approving major initiatives, and helping remove structural or administrative barriers to service.
FIDUCIARY STEWARDSHIP
Overseeing finances, budgeting, compliance, and responsible use of Seventh Tradition funds in alignment with PIR®’s values.
Our Purpose & Mission
The Board of Directors exists to:
- Safeguard PIR®’s Mission: Ensure that all organizational decisions remain aligned with PIR®’s primary purpose and recovery-centered ethos.
- Provide Ethical & Legal Oversight: Fulfill nonprofit governance responsibilities, including compliance, financial stewardship, and risk management.
- Support Fellowship-Driven Service: Facilitate access to PIR® service information, meeting resources, educational materials, and opportunities to serve.
- Ensure Organizational Continuity: Maintain institutional memory, leadership transitions, and long-term sustainability for the benefit of current and future members.
- Uphold Principles Before Personalities: Model collaborative, values-based leadership that reflects PIR®’s recovery roots and service traditions..