Our Story
InnerTrek’s origins trace back to 2015, a time when legal psychedelic therapy seemed, at best, a remote possibility. But Tom and Sheri Eckert, a therapist couple in Portland, Oregon, saw it differently, and began dreaming into a state-regulated model for the careful use of psilocybin mushrooms.
Moved by their vision and by a need to see a world that would allow for it, the Eckerts boldly set out to reverse 50 years of psychedelic prohibition.
Utilizing Oregon’s Legislative Counsel, they developed a first-of-its-kind initiative and set their compass to the 2020 statewide ballot.
Armed with potent messaging and a lectern in the back of their SUV, the Eckerts, in the years that followed, went about spreading the word wherever they could.
Their efforts eventually landed them in sold out theaters and on airwaves across the state.
Fueled by changing attitudes around psychedelics, they built a strong coalition and campaign apparatus, assembled a team to collect 165,000 petition signatures, and, against long odds, qualified their initiative for the statewide ballot.
Oregonians showed up in force to support “Measure 109,” a law to legally license psilocybin practitioners, producers, and provider organizations in Oregon.
Passing with 1.3 million votes (56%) on November 3rd of 2020, 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 is remembered for having helped deliver the nation’s first above-ground psychedelic therapy framework, a statewide program indelibly infused with her characteristic perseverance, integrity, and inclusive embrace.
Today, her legacy is sealed in the Sheri Eckert Foundation, the leading philanthropic provider of access to psychedelic training and services through scholarships and other supportive programs.
The Oregon effort carved out a new space for the ancient medicines, complete with careful safety, practice, and ethical standards, specific training and accountability, and a licensing framework tailored to the unique quality of the psychedelic modality. The framework opens doors of access to anyone who might safely benefit, without requiring a prescription or a diagnosis.
The model requires well-trained facilitators, an aspect the Eckerts had been eyeing for some time. In the short window between the legislative victory and Sheri’s passing, Tom and Sheri, with an evolving vision for training, were gifted the use of a storied communal compound in a beautifully forested land outside of Portland. In Sheri’s wake, Tom, transmuting grief to intention, founded and organized “InnerTrek” in 2021.
He invited seasoned lead educators Erica Zelfand, Gina Gratza, Jason Foster, and Tal Sharabi, and tapped Nate Howard, an accomplished agent of change who helped with the 109 campaign, to lead InnerTrek’s operations.
After receiving approval from the Oregon Health Authority and licensure from Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission, InnerTrek’s Psilocybin Facilitator Training Program opened its doors.
Over 100 well-qualified enrollees joined InnerTrek’s first cohort and, with inspired resolve, quickly became a tight-knit community.
With a cross-disciplinary curriculum that converged on something entirely new, InnerTrek’s staff and students sensed they were shaping a bold evolution in our mental health and wellness landscape. The world took notice, with a flurry of media profiling the country’s first state-sanctioned psychedelic training program.
InnerTrek continued to enroll full cohorts, resulting in a growing community of license-ready graduates.
Meanwhile, in late 2023, atop an iconic building in the heart of Portland, InnerTrek’s Center for Psilocybin Services opened to the public.
The magical 4600 sq ft space, state-licensed for facilitated psilocybin journeys, was designed and launched by Tom and Rachel Aidan, an entrepreneur and developer of renowned programs worldwide.
With a gold-standard approach to psilocybin care, the Center houses the training program’s practicum component as well as a spectrum of innovative community-focused programming.
In early 2024, Emma Knighton, who previously founded the American Psychedelic Psychotherapy Association, was named Director of Services, sharpening the Center’s focus on group retreats, practicums, and partnership programs with esteemed psychedelic organizations worldwide.
Integrating Training and Services under one parent company in 2024, InnerTrek added Lisa Snyder – an InnerTrek grad and accomplished organizer – to head community engagement and digital operations.
With its current leadership formation of Tom, Nate, Emma, and Lisa, the greater InnerTrek team is poised to expand operations in Colorado, which, following Oregon, passed the “Natural Medicines Act” in 2022 – an aligned evolution of the state-regulated model.
With close collaboration between the two states, the emerging multi-state endeavor promises portability of licenses, standardization of facilitator training requirements, reciprocity of training credits, and a co-creation of professional norms.
