Dr Leor Roseman and Sami Awad
Leor Roseman is a Senior Lecturer and Psychedelic Researcher at the University of Exeter, and the chair of RIPPLES, a new non-profit for psychedelic-assisted peace-building. He has previously worked at the Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London, under the mentorship of Prof. Robin Carhart-Harris and Prof. David Nutt, supporting the foundational work of a remerging research field. His interdisciplinary research covers neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology, anthropology and conflict resolution, using various research methods such as fMRI, quantitative, qualitative, micro-phenomenology, ethnographic, and participatory research.
Currently, Leor is investigating relational processes and group dynamics in psychedelic rituals. He is interested in how psychedelics enhance connectedness, group bonding (communitas), and sociality and can serve as a social cure. Furthermore, together with Palestinian and Israeli activists and researchers, he is developing a praxis of research & action which utilizes the potential of psychedelics for peace-building, liberation and justice. They hope to create a participatory approach that focuses on personal and societal healing and considers action and healing intertwined.
Sami Awad is the Founder and the former Executive Director of Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem. Sami was born in the United States to Palestinian parents; his father (originally from Jerusalem) became a refugee at the age of nine after his father was killed in the 1948 war leaving behind his wife and seven children. Sami’s mother is from the Gaza Strip where he still has members of his family living there. Growing up in a violent situation, at a young age Sami was influenced by the teaching of his uncle Mubarak Awad, the Palestinian activist who promoted and engaged in nonviolent resistance to the occupation during the first Intifada. From a young age Sami was introduced to and influenced by great leaders and visionaries of peace and non-violence, from Jesus to Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr.
Sami holds a doctoral degree in Divinity from the Chicago Theological Seminary, a master's degree in international relations from the American University in Washington D.C. and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Kansas.
Sami has engaged himself locally and globally through promoting, teaching, and engaging in nonviolence, healing of collective trauma and transformation work. He has spoken and held workshops in different countries, communities, political and religious organizations.
