As Head of Growth and Partnerships, and a founding team member, Shirelle brings her passion for therapy, education, product design, and scalable solutions to Beckley Academy. Shirelle is committed to enabling equitable access to safe and legal psychedelics and she intends to become a psychedelic therapist in the future.

Shirelle is a first-generation American, who grew up internationally. After spending the first ten years of her career as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company and building a successful advertising startup, she was burnt out. Seeking purpose and healing after a divorce, Shirelle spent time deconstructing her identity and patterns in therapy. She studied and began practicing mediation, yoga, and movement to help her process her grief. During this time, she learned about the breakthrough research for psychedelic-assisted therapy to support mental well-being. Shirelle dedicated herself to the legalization movement, joining the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and volunteering to provide peer support through the Zendo Project. Shirelle is particularly passionate about destigmatizing mental health through education and bringing access to psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT).

Shirelle learned to cultivate acceptance and compassion, for herself and others, with the support of her therapists, spiritual teachers, and psychedelics. Pema Chödrön said “compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.” Shirelle believes that in order for humans to meet the existential risks of the 21st century, we need to heal as individuals first, then extend that healing outwards. She hopes that access to PAT supports our collective healing.