The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) has been at the center of psychedelic science and advocacy for nearly four decades. From MDMA-assisted therapy trials to policy reform campaigns, the nonprofit has helped steer psychedelics from the underground into mainstream conversation. Now, as it approaches its 40th anniversary, MAPS is turning the page on leadership with the appointment of two familiar figures: Betty Aldworth and Ismail Lourido Ali.
The pair have already been serving as interim co-leads since March, but the board has now made it official. Aldworth and Ali step in as Co-Executive Directors, a move that both reflects MAPS’ collaborative ethos and signals a generational shift in how the movement is led. Rick Doblin, MAPS’ founder and president, remains involved in guiding research and international projects, but the day-to-day direction now falls to two voices shaped by decades of activism, policy reform, and community building.
Who They Are
Betty Aldworth is well known across the drug policy landscape. She previously served as Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), where she helped cultivate a new generation of advocates. Today, she also chairs the Board of Directors for the Marijuana Policy Project and its foundation. Aldworth has built her reputation on nonprofit leadership, grassroots organizing, and mentoring activists who are now central to the psychedelic and cannabis reform spaces.
Ismail Lourido Ali, often known as Izzy, took his first steps at MAPS as a legal fellow in 2016. Since then, he has helped design and implement psychedelic policy reform strategies across the U.S. and abroad. An attorney and co-founder of the Psychedelic Bar Association, Ali has become one of the most trusted policy thinkers in the field, advocating for access models that balance equity, safety, and cultural respect. His own leadership overlaps with Aldworth’s history at …
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Author: High Times / High Times
