Tegan is a multidisciplinary researcher, sociocultural-behavioral scientist, consultant, community healer, and acclaimed JEDI innovator. Tegan is the Founder and CEO of The Medicine Objective, a nonprofit working at the intersections of science, decolonization, and community health with a special interest in psychedelic medicine. Tegan works through ‘functional decolonization’, a method used to shift complex systems, restructure institutions, and rewrite academic norms. Tegan holds BAs in anthropology and psychology (UMN), a Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies/Research (CIIS), and she is an alumna-scholar of the AAAP REACH Program. Tegan attended UMN Medical School for 3 years where she served as MD-student Chief Diversity Officer and co-led the movement for academic medicine reform following the local murder of George Floyd. She is the current President of White Coats 4 Black Lives – Minneapolis Chapter. Tegan researches psychedelics through the Nielson Lab (Psychiatry, UMN) and co-Chair of the Northern Lights Psychedelic Research Collaborative. Tegan is passionate about identifying creative ways to unite and empower people. Lastly and mostly, she is a writer, poet, dancer, performer, healer, water protector, air bender, plant tender, firekeeper, and activist, bringing art and heart into every aspect of her work.

Decolonization allows us to reach beyond the edges of our societal (colonized) conditioning to access other ways of knowing and being. The field of psychedelic medicine is fertile space for discussions of decolonization, but the concept of decolonization is often presented as a vague destination without a roadmap. In response, I developed Functional Decolonization (FD). Decolonization is a process; FD is HOW. In this presentation, I will introduce FD in the context of psychedelics and the genesis of FD through my own healing journey and qualitative research. I will also present on MN nonprofit, The Medicine Objective Inc. to discuss our hands-on work through FD ranging from scientific research, rewilding, and community action.