STAFF
Our staff, consisting of Matthew Mormello, Jeanae White and Wesley Burkhart have all been involved working with ibogaine since 2014. After working together, Jeanae and Matt branched off to focus on ayahuasca while Wesley went on to work under the direction of two influential people in the iboga/ibogaine community. Matt traveled to Gabon in 2017 to complete initiation and he and Jeanae were married in a Bwiti ceremony. The 3 teamed back up in 2018 to offer iboga and ayahuasca retreats and ceremonies in one joint program at our shared facility in San Ramon, Costa Rica.
MATTHEW MORMELLO – OWNER
Matthew first got involved with ibogaine in 2011 when he was treated for his opiate addiction on HBO’s VICE episode about ibogaine. Unfortunately, Matt relapsed a few months after returning home. Despite this set back, he still believed ibogaine could work for him, so in 2013 he flew to Costa Rica for another treatment and then never returned to the United States. In 2014 his focus started to transition to ayahuasca and in 2015 he and his wife, Jeanae, opened New Life Ayahuasca, an ayahuasca retreat center. In 2017 Matt and Jeanae traveled to Gabon where Matt underwent a full initiation at Ebando earning the ‘Moukoukou mia Mogenda’ and then he and Jeanae were married in a Bwiti ceremony.
JEANAE WHITE – OWNER
Jeanae also was first introduced to ibogaine by her family because of her opiate addiction. Born in the suburbs of Chicago, she struggled with opiate dependency for over 5 years before she ended up in Costa Rica for treatment in 2014. There she met Matt and the two of them would go on to form New Life Iboga and New Life Ayahuasca over the next few years. In 2017, she and Matt went to Gabon where they were married and she was witness Matt’s initiation into Bwiti. While the main focus of her career has been more on ayahuasca, Jeanae has always felt a profound respect and gratitude for iboga and the influence it has had on her life.
WESLEY BURKART – DIRECTOR
Like Matt and Jeanae, Wesley also struggled with opiate addiction and was treated in Costa Rica with ibogaine in 2014. After leaving Costa Rica in 2015, Wesley went on to spend some time in New York, California and Mexico working with various members of the ibogaine community. In 2018 he returned to Costa Rica to team up with Matt and Jeanae to restart the ibogaine program at New Life Iboga.
BRIAN MURPHY – M.Ed LCSW
Biran Murphy has been working with people who have taken psychedlics since 2003. He has a history of plant medicines use himself, and is drawn to working with people who have taken these extraordinary catalysts for healing and change. He uses a tool called Holistic Psychotherapy, which invites you into a calm and centered state so you can go inside yourself, explore your own imaginal realms and keep those healing cycles going. You can also integrate your plant medicine experience by reconnecting with its imagery and by going on new journeys of self-acceptance and letting go. Brian works with us via phone sessions.