Dara Menashi, Ph.D, is a systems reform expert with years of experience understanding how complex systems operate when they overlap local, state and federal jurisdictions. Her work focuses on field building in areas that intersect public, private non-profit, community and philanthropic actors. 

She has held several leadership positions at the Annie E. Casey Foundation where her work included spearheading the development of a state-based strategy to transform the structure, case practice and funding mechanisms of public child welfare systems. The successful replication of the strategy in several states led to a tipping point in the field, and codification in federal legislation changing the foundational funding mechanisms of an over $30 billion per year industry. Her work was captured in the publication Fixing a Broken System Transforming Maine’s Child Welfare System and she was highlighted in the Huffington Post for her innovative use of technology to improve well-being outcomes for children. Dara brings her expertise in field building and system change to the evolving field of access to PAT in our medical system.

Dara holds a Ph.D. and a MPP in Public Policy from Harvard University and BA in Economics from Boston University.

The Psychedelics Business Forum

The role of philanthropy in the psychedelic ecosystem

Psychedelics presently occupy a unique position. While public opinion has warmed considerably, and both the academy and regulators are now willing to consider its merits based on the science, psychedelic drugs and therapies still lack a mature industry and capital market, and government funding remains artificially constrained by legacy prohibitionist policies and attitudes.

As public engagement with psychedelics continue to grow and integration with the field of medicine draws nearer, philanthropy has emerged as an essential source of funding for research, policy activism, education, infrastructure, and access projects. Come to this session to learn what is missing from the priorities of profit-focused businesses and state grantmakers.