Hanifa Nayo Washington: she/her/hers, is a dynamic leader and transformational healer, with 25 years of values based leadership. Her unique interdisciplinary roles as a sacred activist, healing justice practitioner, communications strategist, digital creative, artist, and ritualist distinguish her in the realm of social change. Her life’s work merges the practices of mindfulness, healing, placemaking, and social justice, with cultivating organizations, gatherings, spaces, and experiences rooted in the principles of beloved community.
A burgeoning thought leader in the field of psychedelics, Hanifa has addressed many different audiences from conferences and trainings, to top rated podcasts and publications. She has been featured in an ever growing number of articles from Essence to Business Insider.
Hanifa is invested in actively shaping the infrastructure for equitable access to legal, safe, and effective psychedelic-assisted healing and wellness for sidelined communities in the US. In Oregon, she is the lead facilitator of the Psilocybin Equity Project with Oregon Psilocybin Services under the Oregon Health Authority and serves on the Community Advisory Council of the Oregon Psilocybin Evaluation Nexus. Adding to her 15+ years as a transformational healer, Hanifa is currently studying with InnerTrek to secure her psilocybin facilitator license in Oregon.
Hanifa is partnering with premiere organizations like Beckley Retreats in the development and implementation of psilocybin-assisted healing and wellness experiences for BILAPOC and other marginalized peoples.
Hanifa, is Founding Team Emerita of Fireside Project, a nonprofit that is creating systemic change in the field of psychedelics in three key domains: safety, diversity, and equitable access. Through supporting the launch of Fireside Project's Psychedelic Peer Support Line, Hanifa has played a pivotal role in establishing a nationwide safety net, significantly reducing emergency calls and hospitalizations while providing free, high-quality care. Since its launch in April 2021, the support line has received over 25,000 calls.
In addition to these impactful endeavors, Hanifa co-founded One Village Healing, a healing collective dedicated to wellbeing, resilience, and psychedelic wellness, with a focus on BIPOC communities.
Hanifa, is an award winning artist, masterful storyteller, and world traveler, who graduated with a B.A. from Beloit College in Communication Theory and Russian & Soviet Studies.
A native of Detroit, Michigan, Hanifa is currently living her bicoastal best life in New Haven, Connecticut and Portland, Oregon. Learn more about Hanifa’s work at www.handsofhanifa.com