“Our emotions are not problems to be solved. They are opportunities for us to be present with, and come home to, parts of ourselves.”

WAKANA WHITE OWL | Reunion Co-Founder & Ayahuasquera

At Reunion we work with Indigenous SHAMANs along with other highly qualified CEREMONY LEADERS with decades of combined experience WORKING with ayahuasca.

WAKANA WHITEOWL
MEDICINE WOMAN
Co-Founder of Reunion & AYAHUASQUERA

Wakana, Whiteowl Medicine Woman is a Reunion Co-Founder and multidisciplinary Shaman, descended from a long line of indigenous medicine people and Appalachian folk healers. She has been working almost exclusively with Ayahuasca in ceremony for close to 15 years.

Wakana has studied herbology and spirituality for decades, has trained in various traditions, lineages and modalities, including with the Shipibo and her own Cherokee and Lakota Sioux lineages, bringing to Reunion a very broad and deep scope of shamanic practice.

A BIPOC lesbian, Wakana also brings to Reunion a love of people, an ethos of kindness, compassion and inclusion, and a dedication to helping others have immense opportunities for personal growth and reuniting with their truest self that she too continues to experience through the sacred plant Ayahuasca.

With an affinity for acute, chronic, and intergenerational trauma resolution, parts work and soul integration, Wakana works closely with her ancestors, earthly and celestial guides, and energies. She is a student of all and follower of none.

A mother of four, and a grandmother of two, Wakana feels blessed to share her life in service with her partner Shamanka. As a jubilant member of the Reunion team, she is honored to be serving Reunion and our commitment as a non-commodified place to ignite life!

Shaunna Morris, known as Shamanka Sonamor (which means shaman who sings with love), has spent many years exploring her deep interest in sacred plants through studies in Africa and Peru, in varying cultures and lineages, and ultimately led her to combine her education and research in service to Ayahuasca specifically.

Shamanka brings to Reunion her extensive professional and doctoral experience and insight, years of guiding Ayahuasca ceremonies and attending deep shamanic process, a passion and deep reverence for indigenous teachings, plant and celestial energies, quantum physics, and brain remapping.

In grateful alignment with the vision and ethos of Reunion, Shamanka is excited about helping one another expand our capacity to experience love and supporting each other in freeing ourselves from limiting beliefs so we may come home to our true selves and to even more profound and more joyful connection with each other and the natural world.

Working with Indigenous Elders from various Indigenous lineages allows us to facilitate this work in solidarity with the original stewards of Ayahuasca to ensure we are in reciprocity and integrity. Reunion is honored to act as an invitation for Indigenous cultures and deep, ancestral practices to be shared with modern Western cultures through our center in Costa Rica. Our not-for-profit model allows us to facilitate this work without commodification and deeply resonates with our family of Contributors, which includes highly-skilled ceremony leaders, practitioners, and experienced facilitators.

INDIGENOUS ELDERS

WE’VE BEEN HONORED TO WELCOME TO REUNION

TITU AMARU SALQA

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Ninawa Pai da Mata

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Maestra Ynes

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Maestra Laura

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Maestra Lila

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At Reunion our guests’ physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing are of paramount importance. As such, we are fully-licensed and have a Clinical Intake Team, including our medical doctor, nurse, and psychotherapists. As part of the registration process, this team performs a comprehensive review of each guest’s intake ensuring safe participation in a Reunion Ayahuasca retreat.

MEDICAL

VANESSA VARELA SOTO

GUEST INTAKE NURSE
Vanessa is a Registered Nurse at Reunion’s on-site, licensed Medical Clinic. As part of the Intake Coordination Team at Reunion, she brings with her over 14 years of experience in the medical and healthcare industry. Vanessa has a profound desire and drive to care for individuals as they embark on their Ayahuasca journeys.
Extremely well-versed in nursing procedures and diligently upholding Reunion’s high safety standards, Vanessa’s thorough on-site medical intake procedures ensures guests are ready to experience the benefits of Ayahuasca without risk. She also provides IV Drip Therapy, available through Reunion’s Medical Clinic.
Her background as an ER nurse with experience in surgery assistance, ambulatory support, aeromedical procedures, IV therapy, and at-home nursing allows Vanessa to serve guests with a breadth of knowledge and unparalleled level of care. Vanessa was born and raised in Costa Rica and is fluent in Spanish and English.

PSYCHOTHERAPY

DR. SHAUNNA MORRIS

PSYCHOLOGIST
Dr. Shaunna Morris holds a doctorate in psychology and is a licensed and published clinical psychologist.
After many years in Jungian analysis and dreamwork and a decade at UCSD with dual appointments in neuroscience and psychiatry, Shaunna closed out her academic career in neuroscience/brain research in 2005 with a sense that there was more to discover outside of the box of academia - a choice which ultimately allowed her to explore her deep interest in sacred plants through studies in Africa and Peru, in varying cultures and lineages, and ultimately led her to combine her education and research in service to Ayahuasca specifically.
Shaunna brings to Reunion her extensive professional and doctoral experience and insight, years of guiding Ayahuasca ceremonies and attending deep shamanic process, a passion and deep reverence for indigenous teachings, plant and celestial energies, quantum physics, and brain remapping.
In grateful alignment with the vision and ethos of Reunion, Shaunna is excited about helping one another expand our capacity to experience love and supporting each other in freeing ourselves from limiting beliefs so we may come home to our true selves and to even deeper and more joyful connection with each other and the natural world.
ALEX THEBERGE, LMFT

PSYCHOTHERAPIST

Alex Theberge (He/Him/His) is a licensed psychotherapist with nearly 20 years experience, having earned his BA in Economics & Latin American Studies from Columbia University and a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from San Francisco State University. His practice specializes in trauma healing and helping people prepare for and integrate healing experiences with psychedelic plants.
Alex is also a traditionally-trained Ayahuasquero and Ayahuasca facilitator and has spent several years in the Peruvian Amazon studying Ayahuasca shamanism and facilitating Ayahuasca ceremonies. He brings to Reunion his experience supporting hundreds of people through their transformative journeys with psychedelic plants such as Ayahuasca, Psilocybin Mushrooms, and San Pedro. He understands and has personally experienced the profound transformational impact these plants can have when they are properly prepared for, facilitated, and integrated.

At Reunion, we use the term Contributors, rather than employees.

We do so because it best reflects and imparts the importance of everyone’s significant contribution to the Guest experience. Every Contributor has an important role in providing for our Guests, following the principles of trust and mutual respect. Our caring Contributors include everyone involved in Reunion, from our experienced Facilitators to our volunteers and department staff.