Creating equitable opportunity, representation, and access within the state-regulated psychedelic healthcare model.

This includes Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico, with more states on the way.

About the foundation

The mission of the Sheri Eckert Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit project, is to increase equitable access in the emerging state-regulated psychedelic healthcare movement.

Our mission

The mission of the Sheri Eckert Foundation (SEF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is to ensure that Oregon’s evolving psychedelic ecosystem is accessible to participants from diverse backgrounds, financial means, and geographies around the state and country.

Our story

The Sheri Eckert Foundation was established in 2021 by Tom Eckert and Nate Howard to honor Sheri’s legacy and fulfill a clearly stated wish. 

Measure 109 co-creator Sheri Eckert, who passed away in December of 2020, spoke frequently of generating support for “equitable access to psychedelic education and services.” In her words, she wanted to create an institution that, “guided by on-the-ground community leaders, would allocate resources to support facilitator training, community education, and service delivery for often underserved populations.”

Meet the team

Sam Chapman speaking

  • Lead of the Inward Dive Fund

    “What I learned is anyone that has contact with the justice system is holding trauma and stress.” - Henry

    A trauma-informed healing practitioner, justice reform advocate, and licensed psilocybin facilitator, Henry L. Fields is a dedicated to transforming lives on the margins. As the founding Program Lead of the Inward Dive Fund (a project of the Sheri Eckert Foundation in Oregon), Henry connects justice-impacted individuals – from formerly incarcerated adults to attorneys and family members – with compassionate, legal psychedelic therapy and integration support. This role unites two threads of Henry’s life: his own hard-won journey of recovery and spiritual growth, and his passion for addressing the systemic trauma at the root of mass incarceration.

    Henry’s approach to healing is both unique and holistic. A certified hypnotist, meditation coach, and shamanic practitioner, he draws on a wide range of modalities to guide clients through deep inner work. “I specialize in the language and logistics of the subconscious mind,” he explains, helping people access the symbols, intuition, and insight that often lie beneath the surface.

    Through his private practice Inward Dive Hypnosis & Intuitive Counseling, which he founded in 2019, Henry has supported individuals in overcoming trauma, addiction, and limiting life patterns. He employs tools such as hypnotherapy, breathwork, somatic techniques, and sacred ceremony to facilitate transformation. Henry is well versed in perennial wisdom philosophies and believes strongly in the power of ritual and community in healing. He is also a Registered Yoga Teacher and lifelong musician, often incorporating mindfulness and music into his sessions to create a safe, expressive space for clients.

    A central philosophy of Henry’s work is that healing personal trauma is a catalyst for broader social change. This perspective is informed by lived experience. Nearly two decades ago, Henry overcame substance use disorder and narrowly avoided a path that could have led to prison. As a Black man who faced adversity early in life, he carries an intimate awareness of how trauma and injustice intertwine.

    His own healing journey – which involved everything from 12-step recovery to psychedelic therapy – not only freed him from depression and addiction, but also revealed his life’s purpose: to help others find freedom within themselves. Henry often notes that “anyone that has contact with the justice system is holding trauma and stress,” a truth he addresses by making psilocybin-assisted therapy accessible to those who need it most. In 2025, he established the Inward Dive Temple, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, to raise funds and partnerships for this cause. In the same year, he partnered with the Sheri Eckert Foundation to launch the Inward Dive Fund, effectively pioneering one of the nation’s first programs to offer subsidized psychedelic healing to justice-impacted communities.

    Henry’s leadership and advocacy have quickly gained recognition. He was a featured speaker at the 2023 Horizons Northwest psychedelics conference, where he shared insights on bridging spirituality, healing, and social justice. He is an active member of Oregon’s facilitator network and an emerging voice in the movement to integrate trauma healing into criminal justice reform. With compassion, wisdom, and a visionary spirit, Henry Fields is forging a new model of “healing justice” – one that seeks to end cycles of trauma and incarceration by helping individuals dive inward to reclaim their wholeness.

  • Senior Project Coordinator, in partnership with Magical Teams

    Alexandria Turner is the Senior Project Coordinator at the Sheri Eckert Foundation, where she drives complex initiatives from concept to delivery.

    With a background as an IT Business Analyst, she blends program and project management with hands-on expertise in software implementations, platform migrations, data management, policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, and data privacy.

    Alexandria has led successful projects across both enterprise environments and small businesses, known for pinpointing process bottlenecks, orchestrating clean workflows, and delivering measurable results that boost efficiency and alignment with organizational goals. A pragmatic problem-solver and trusted partner to cross-functional teams, she brings clear communication, careful documentation, and steady execution to every engagement.

    Outside of work, Alexandria enjoys piloting small aircraft—proof of her calm under pressure and love of navigating complex systems.

  • Senior Advisor

    Sam Chapman is one of the country’s leading experts on state-based psychedelic policy and access programs. He served as Campaign Manager for Oregon’s Measure 109—the nation's first successful ballot measure to create a legal framework for psilocybin therapy.

    After passage of Measure 109, he guided early implementation efforts as the founding Executive Director of the Healing Advocacy Fund. Over the past decade, Sam has advised lawmakers, regulators, advocates, and philanthropists across the country on psychedelic policy reform.

    In 2025, Sam founded the Center for Psychedelic Policy (CPP) to solve one of the most urgent and overlooked challenges in the field: affordability. CPP is currently in the process of becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Under Sam’s leadership, the Center launched the National Psychedelic Landscape Assessment (NPLA)—the first comprehensive analysis of state legislation and policy trends focused on access, implementation, and public investment.

    Sam’s work is grounded in a belief that real-world healing requires real-world access—and that affordability must be the foundation of any scalable policy model. He regularly partners with legislators, funders, and researchers to design pragmatic strategies that work in today’s political environment.

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Lorena Dame_Wales_2023.jpg

  • Executive Director & Founding Board Member

    Nate is a systems-change organizer and nonprofit leader whose work has helped turn policy ideas into durable institutions in voting rights, education, environmental justice, and psychedelic healthcare.

    As a senior strategist behind Oregon’s Ballot Measure 109 and director of SEF, Nate is a central architect of the world’s first legal, public, government-regulated psilocybin healthcare model. He co-created InnerTrek, the first state-licensed school for psilocybin facilitators, and through SEF has helped catalyze and fund dozens of training scholarships, hundreds of direct services, and several IRB-approved research studies within Oregon’s psilocybin program, advancing real-world evidence, safety, and access in this emerging field.

    Before focusing on psychedelic policy and research, Nate spent a decade leading high-impact work across democracy reform and public policy related to decarbonization, education, and law enforcement.

    As Executive Director of the Bus Project (now Next Up), he led the coalition that won the nation’s first Automatic Voter Registration law, a model since adopted widely and credited with enfranchising 25 million new voters. Earlier, as Chief of Staff to Senator Mark Hass and later Oregon Senate Finance Director, he helped shape key initiatives including the Oregon Promise community college grant, which has opened tuition-free pathways for tens of thousands of lower-income students totaling $100m+ in access grants. As Deputy Campaign Manager and then as Senior Policy Advisor to the Mayor of Portland, he led the Mayor’s policy agenda creating landmark legislation on housing, climate, and public safety.

    Born and raised in Southeast Portland, Nate holds a B.A. in City Planning, Public Policy, and Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon. He remains rooted in Oregon’s communities and institutions, committed to building practical, ethical, and scalable models—especially in psychedelic healthcare—that other states and countries can adapt. If he’s lucky, as he notes, he’ll “get to live and die in Portland.”

  • Director of Operations & Development

    Lorena is dedicated to expanding access, fostering education, and supporting transformative healing initiatives.

    As Director of Operations and Development at the Sheri Eckert Foundation and Vice President of Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Psychedelic Society, she has advanced projects like the Psilocybin Access Fund and Psilocybin Therapy Insurance Initiative, promoting equitable care in the psychedelic field.

    She produced the Horizons PBC conference on psychedelic research for five years, transforming it into two week-long bi-coastal events and introducing classes for medical and mental health professionals. As a death doula at Mount Sinai, she integrates compassionate care with her expertise, supporting individuals through life’s most profound transitions.

  • Administrative Coordinator & all-around unicorn (in partnership with Magical Teams)

    Nikia is a wide-ranging administrative powerhouse who helps to keep the numerous trains running on time at the foundation from data management and funds administration to communications and process improvement.

    A rapid learner and strategic problem-solver, she excels under pressure, brings meticulous attention to detail, and consistently contributes positive energy to our team and programming.

    Over the past several years, she has taken on every new program and task with grace and diligence—even when it has been beyond her prior experience—and she helps the team stay committed to delivering positive outcomes for all stakeholders.

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing p

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing panel of Horizons Northwest 2023 at the Portland Art Museum.

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing p

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing panel of Horizons Northwest 2023 at the Portland Art Museum.

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing p

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing panel of Horizons Northwest 2023 at the Portland Art Museum.

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing p

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing panel of Horizons Northwest 2023 at the Portland Art Museum.

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing p

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing panel of Horizons Northwest 2023 at the Portland Art Museum.

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing p

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing panel of Horizons Northwest 2023 at the Portland Art Museum.

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing p

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing panel of Horizons Northwest 2023 at the Portland Art Museum.

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing p

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing panel of Horizons Northwest 2023 at the Portland Art Museum.

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing p

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing panel of Horizons Northwest 2023 at the Portland Art Museum.

Meet the Board

  • David Bronner

    David Bronner, Founding Board Member

  • Tom Eckert, MS

    Tom Eckert, MS, Founding Board Member

  • Nate Howard, Executive Director

    Nate Howard, Executive Director and Founding Board Member

 

Under the Hood


Phase 1 — What we accomplished in 2023

Donate
 
 

  • Received one of the few and highly coveted approval statuses by the IRS as a 501c3 charitable nonprofit that is able to receive and allocate funds to individuals and organizations operating in Oregon’s legal and regulated psilocybin facilitation program

  • 75 Fellows were selected, overseen, and awarded~$300,000 in scholarships towards their training and licensure in psilocybin facilitation 

  • Fellows attended over a dozen schools - nearly every State of Oregon-licensed and operational psilocybin training school in the nation

  • Co-created and presented the Horizons Northwest (NW) conference for the second year, educating ~1000 attendees on the latest developments in the field of psychedelics

  • All 75 Fellows received full ride scholarships to attend Horizons NW 2023, a total value of $52,125

  • Nearly all of the 75 Fellows have graduated from their school’s training program and are now Licensed and practicing or pursuing licensure

 

Phase 2 — Where we’re headed in 2024 — 2026

 

Now in phase 2, we’ve created the Psilocybin Access Fund, Inward Dive Fund, Community Leaders Resilience Fund, and Psychedelic Research Incubator.

The Psilocybin Access Fund will cover psilocybin facilitation costs for those in need of deep healing, who experience financial hardship, and/or come from underserved communities. We believe getting money directly to folks that want this medicine, but normally wouldn’t be able to access it, is the best solution now for creating more access and potential for healing. 

Our fundraising objective is to raise one million dollars to support our Access Funds and research incubation. SEF’s immediate goal is to create a statewide “sliding scale” for psilocybin services in Oregon.

While respecting underground pathways and the psychedelic science community, we are committed to this new state-regulated framework and believe that psychedelic services and therapy rendered in this model can be more widespread, financially accessible, and without the legal risk.

And we’re under no illusion that philanthropy will last forever - we see this new fund, and the work it will empower, as an essential intermediary step until we achieve insurance coverage for psilocybin services.

 

Phase 3 - Our future goals

Accelerating the path to broader access - insurance coverage for psychedelic healthcare in state regulated models

 

In 2025 — 2027, we plan to expand our Access Funds and research incubation to additional states, starting with Colorado and New Mexico.

We’ll consider covering additional medicines, as is allowed in Colorado's version of the Oregon Model (state regulated psychedelic therapy model), and we’ll move to expand our programming into other states. Through this approach, we’ll help accelerate the path towards expanded access and insurance coverage for psychedelic therapy in state regulated models.

Why is accelerating the path to insurance coverage our ultimate goal?

We know from firsthand experience that philanthropy will not and should not last forever as the solution to any problem. This is the very reason for this foundation’s existence and our Psilocybin Access Fund. 

Currently, the biggest program in the Oregon Model is a structural one that is the result of the federal government and the ‘war on drugs’; a lack of equitable access to psychedelic therapy due to the absence of insurance coverage. 

In order for insurance to arrive, which we believe will happen eventually through hard work, we must first show that the Oregon Model - state regulated psychedelic therapy frameworks - work. In order for them to work, the public must have trust in the model, which translates to other states' adoption of the Oregon Model. 

 

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing p

David Bronner, Tom Eckert, and Nate Howard—the Founding Board Members of the Sheri Eckert Foundation and co-creators of Horizons Northwest—share reflections and aspirations, alongside leaders in the psychedelic medicine movement, during the closing panel of Horizons Northwest 2023 at the Portland Art Museum.

About Sheri

Who was Sheri Eckert?

Sheri Eckert (maiden name Bessi) was born in San Diego in 1961. With an absent father and a struggling mother, Sheri’s childhood was nomadic, impoverished, and insecure. As an adolescent, she was entrusted to an adult who isolated and abused her. At just 16, she was pregnant with her daughter, Carrissa. Sheri escaped the abuse before giving birth, but a botched surgery led to sepsis and a near-death experience – she felt herself rise from her body into a great expanse, before eventually returning to breathe and to live. 

The experience changed the trajectory of her life. Still a teenager, she lovingly raised Carrissa and later a son, James, providing them with security that she herself had lacked as a child. Sheri would later get trained in counseling and spend years in war-torn West Africa, working with dignitaries on peace projects and giving talks on conflict resolution. She continued to travel the world, returning stateside to run successful businesses, before moving to her motherland of Italy to manifest her dream of owning a restaurant in Florence.

With the great recession of 2008, Sheri lost her restaurant. Under stress, she found herself again reevaluating. She began a journey of healing, including a daily practice of writing short, inspirational affirmations with a certain cosmic flare, which she began posting to a Facebook page. Each missive began with a simple greeting, “Dear Human…” The page amassed a wide following.

Portrait of Sheri Eckert by Erin Wyner, 2021

Having moved to Portland, Oregon, Sheri met Tom Eckert, who would become her husband. Tom was a therapist with a similar outlook on life, death, and the mysteries of consciousness. They developed a counseling practice called “Innerwork” and founded a groundbreaking “Better Man” program to tackle the problem of intimate partner and family violence. Tom also had a keen interest in psychedelics, a world which Sheri had yet to explore.

With Tom at her side, Sheri’s first psychedelic experience served to affirm, in an environment of love and safety, the astonishing impact of her early near-death experience. With continued exploration, she became convinced, like Tom, of the therapeutic and psychospiritual importance of the psychedelic experience. The couple became inspired by the renaissance of clinical research into psychedelic medicine at top institutes like Johns Hopkins, UCLA, and the Imperial College of London.

In 2015, at a time when legal psychedelic therapy seemed a remote possibility, the Eckerts, while on a road trip through one of Oregon’s ancient forests, came to imagine a full legal framework for the careful use of psilocybin mushrooms. Inspired by their vision and by a need to see a world that would allow for it to unfold, the Eckerts boldly set out to reverse 50 years of psychedelic prohibition. Aiming for the 2020 statewide ballot, they built a strong coalition, assembled a team to collect 165,000 petition signatures, and advanced a first-of-its-kind ballot initiative measure that would legally license psilocybin practitioners, producers, and provider organizations in Oregon. 

Oregonians showed up in force to support it, and, with a boost from Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, the improbable journey became a matter of destiny. Passing with 1.3 million votes (56%), Measure 109’s victory at Oregon’s ballot box was decisive and historic.

Tragically, on December 17th of 2020, just a month and a half after the historic legislative victory, Sheri Eckert unexpectedly passed away. She died in her sleep, next to her beloved Tom. She was 59 years old. Sheri Eckert is survived by Tom, her daughter Carrissa, and four grandchildren.

Sheri will be remembered by the psychedelic community, and a wider audience as well, for championing the unique spirit residing in each of us, and for having helped deliver the nation’s first above-ground psychedelic therapy framework, a statewide program indelibly infused with her characteristic perseverance, integrity, competence, and, above all, her loving, inclusive embrace.