EDUCATION

San Diego State University Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences [08/18—05/23]

Interdisciplinary Studies: Biology, Communications, & Psychology with Distinction

Relevant Coursework: Intro to Health Communications, Patient-Provider Communications, Health Communications and Relationships, Scientific Writing, Principles of Human Physiology, Intro to Physiological Psychology, Psychology of Drugs and Behavior, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience, Foundations of Neuroimaging, Abnormal Psychology, Intro to Counseling and Therapy, Counseling Skills and Practice, Intro to Research Methods, & Stress Management

Villa Park High School High School Diploma [08/14—05/18] 

Activities: Mr. Villa Park Award, Kindness Club President, Adventure Club President, Freshmen Class President, Water Polo, Wrestling, Swimming, Scholar-Athlete Award

Advanced Placement Coursework: Psychology, Physics, English Language, English Literature, Computer Science Principles, Macroeconomics, US Government & Politics, Environmental Science

CERTIFICATIONS

Registered Alcohol & Drug Technician I CA Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals [12/23]

Opioid Overdose Naloxone Training End Overdose [10/23]

Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Operator BrainsWay [11/23]

Addiction Recovery and Psycho-Spiritual Integration Coaching Being True to You [10/22]

Youth Mental Health First Aid US National Council for Mental Well-Being [08/22—25]

GCP for Clinical Trials with Investigational Drugs and Medical Devices (U.S. FDA Focus) Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) [06/21—24] 

Good Clinical Practices Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) [06/21—24] 
Biomedical Research Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) [06/21—24] 
Certified Phlebotomy Technician I (CPT I) National Health Career Association [10/20—22] 

COURSES

Emergency Medical Treatment Competency Aurora Behavioral Health [11/23]

National Patient Safety Goals Competency Aurora Behavioral Health [11/23]

Therapeutic Boundaries Competency Aurora Behavioral Health [11/23]

Trauma Informed Care Competency Aurora Behavioral Health [11/23]

Confrontation Avoidance Training Aurora Behavioral Health [11/23]

HIPPA Compliance Competency Aurora Behavioral Health [11/23]

Risk Management Competency Aurora Behavioral Health [11/23]

Infection Control Competency Aurora Behavioral Health [11/23]

Patient's Rights Competency Aurora Behavioral Health [11/23]

Ethics Competency Aurora Behavioral Health [11/23]

Basic Life Support Training (CPR & AED) American Heart Association [09/23]

Eco Spirituality: Environmental Pathways to Healing Graduate Theological Union X Berkeley [10/22] 
Overdose Prevention and Response National Harm Reduction Coalition [08/22]

Engaging People Who Use Drugs National Harm Reduction Coalition [08/22]
Psychedelic Peer-Support Zendo Project (MAPS) [08/22]

Good Clinical Practices Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) [06/21—2024]

Inclusive Leadership Awareness Training (ILAT) San Diego State University [05/22] 

Suicide Awareness and Prevention Aurora Behavioral Health [06/20] 

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Crisis-Intervention, SPSS, MATLAB, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Canva, FL Studio, Microsoft Word, Access, REDCap, Qualtrix, Excel, PowerPoint, Spanish

HARM REDUCTION & PEER SUPPORT EXPERIENCE

Festival Harm-Reduction Specialist Ground Control, Insomniac Events [08/21—Present]

– Promote health, safety, and harm-reduction education and resources for festival goers at events where there are higher rates of drug use, risks, and distress. Actively assess crowds for individuals having difficult experiences, whether altered or intoxicated, ground control helps visitors in need of support on many levels.

Sanctuary Sitter RGX Medical [10/21—Present]

– Provide peer-support counseling and crisis-intervention at sometimes overwhelming and overstimulating festivals for individuals having emotional difficulties or psychological distress. 

Psychedelic Peer Support Counselor Zendo Project (MAPS) [08/22]

– Provided comprehensive harm-reduction peer-support to help inform and transform difficult psychedelic experiences into opportunities for learning and growth.

Crisis Hotline Operator California Youth Crisis Line [07/21—07/22] 

– Delivered active listening, information, referral, and crisis service to callers of the 24/7 Crisis Hotline in need of social support. Conducted phone screenings for individuals, mainly youth, seeking resources or other Headrest services (residential and outpatient counseling) primarily in the state of California.

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

Behavioral Health Specialist Aurora Behavioral Health Center [05/21—Present]

– Coordinate with other departments to manage administrative and clerical assignments to support patient intake, care, discharge, and other organizational operations. Conduct punctual rounds to observe and identify patient’s problems, needs and strengths, and suggest treatment plan modifications. 

– Participate in input and follow through, regarding treatment planning for detox/ substance-use disorder, mood-disorder, dual-diagnosis, military, youth/adolescent, and geriatric populations.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Technician Paxina Health [08/21—Present]

– Aid in operating and administering this cutting-edge treatment for major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Combining physics and neuroscience to accurately excite regions less active in the brains of patients with these disorders.

Phlebotomy Technician Clínica Mi Pueblo [10/20—01/21] 
— Followed health protocols and CLIA regulations when conducting clinical procedures. 
— Informed and comforted patients throughout venipunctures and various lab procedures and tests. 
— Demonstrated knowledge of HIPAA privacy by appropriately handling patient information. 

Medical Volunteer Clínica Mi Pueblo [07/19—10/20] 

— Assisted in different tests such as Urinalysis, A1C/RBG (Random Blood Glucose), EKG, Ultrasound, X-rays, and built a familiarity with medications from the clinic’s pharmaceutical department. 
— Gained an understanding of patient provider communication and improved my clinical Spanish skills.


RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Clinical Research Technician Pain Health and Mindfulness Lab, UCSD [06/21—Present] 

By using validated psychophysical, psychological, pharmacologic, and neuroimaging methodologies Zeidan’s lab determines how cognitive techniques such as placebo, mindfulness meditation, expectations, beliefs, and other cognitive manipulations impact experimentally induced and clinical pain. 

–Assess EMRs and screen subject’s eligibility for studies, schedule, assist in fMRI sessions, facilitate intervention sessions, conduct various assessments, and collect data.

Addiction Research Intern Center for Research on Addiction and Brain Health [09/20—06/21] 
— Explored various topics in the fields of longevity, addiction, and brain-health. 
— Actively drafted manuscripts and peer-reviewed fellow peer’s work, adhering to strict deadlines improving 
my time management skills. 

– I conducted research on alternative therapies for addiction including articles and presentations, specifically on 5-MeO-DMT & N, N-DMT as treatment.
— Investigated the neuroscience of classic psychedelics including their effect on the serotonergic and 
dopaminergic pathways within the brain and their potential applications in emerging frontiers. 

LEADERSHIP

Community Development Project Leader Intercollegiate Psychedelic Network [10/21—07/22] 
Inclusive Leadership Awareness Training (ILAT) San Diego State University [08/22] 
Member The National Society of Leadership and Success [08/20—05/23] 
President Guardian Scholar Student Advisory Board [08/20—05/21]

Vice President of External Affairs Guardian Scholar Student Advisory Board [08/19—05/20] 
Special Events Coordinator Aztec Wrestling Club [08/20—05/21] 
Vice President Jiu Jitsu Club [08/22—05/23] 


ACTIVISM

Chapter Leader Students for Sensible Drug Policy - San Diego State University [03/21—05/23] 


Volunteer San Diego 350: Climate Change Action [09/21—05/22] 


Foster Youth Advocate California Youth Connection [10/21—05/23] 


Member American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [05/21 —05/22]


Harm Reduction Volunteer Harm Reduction Circle [03/22 — Present]


EXTRACURRICULARS

Student Member American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics [01/22—01/23] 

Participant Psychedelic Career Pipeline, Students for Sensible Drug Policy [02/22—12/22] 


Member SDSU Speech and Debate Team [09/21—01/22] 


Volunteer SDSU Latinx Student Resource Center [12/22—05/23] 


Circle Member Foundation for Shamanic Studies [05/20—Present] 


Youth Mentor School on Wheels [01/16—06/18] 


Mural Volunteer Chicano Park [06/23—Present]

AWARDS

Source Research Foundation Travel Award Horizons NW 2023 Conference [12/23]

Funding to attend Horizons NW conference, the largest psychedelic learning and community event in PNW.

International Drug Policy Reform Conference National Scholarship Drug Policy Alliance [10/23]

Funding to attend the Reform Conference, centered around the dynamic drug policy reform movement.

Working to Succeed! Swette Living Charitable Scholarship [April 2022]
I secured this grant to obtain a psycho-spiritual integration and addiction recovery coaching certification to supplement my experience and ability in the future to help peers, clients, and patients. 

Una Davis Scholarship San Diego State University [08/21—08/22]
Supports students at SDSU who have triumphed serious substance abuse or human trafficking. 

John M. & Theodora Yarborough Memorial Scholarship San Diego State University [04/21] 

Awarded to high-achieving individuals admitted to the GS program to provide housing and board. 


Orangewood Foundation Scholarship Orangewood Foster Youth Center [08/18—05/23]
This scholarship provides financial, educational, and emergency assistance to disadvantaged youth pursuing higher education. 


Guardian Scholar Award Recipient San Diego State University [08/18—05/23]
Assists students who identify as current or former foster youth, wards of the court, under legal guardianship, or unaccompanied homeless youth by supporting their transition to, through, and beyond SDSU. 


Eagle Scout Award Boy Scouts of America - Troop 241 [08/18]
Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process.

RESEARCH INTERESTS 

Treatment Protocol Improvement, Altered States of Consciouesness, Creativity/ Imagination, Personal Growth & Development, Behavioral Psychopharmacology, Mindfulness Based Interventions, Public Health & Harm-Reduction, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy, Mood Disorders & Addiction, Therapeutic Effects of Music, Importance of Community, Integrative Medicine, Existential Therapy, Psycho-Spirituality, Cultural Significance in Treatment, Dream Analysis & Phenomena, Ecopsychology, Logotherapy, EEG, and MRI.

PUBLICATIONS

I feel your pain: Higher empathy is associated with higher posterior default mode network activity

Valeria Oliva, Gabriel Riegner, Jon Dean, Lora A. Khatib, Daniel Barrows, Conan Chen, Dwayne Mosbey, Carolina Lopez, Alessandro Allen, Alexandra Uvarova, Mikaila Reyes, Richard Fuentes, Aaron Jacobson, Thomas Liu, and Fadel Zeidan. Funded by the UC San Diego T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion and the National Institutes of Health (R01AT009693; R21AT010352). DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.11.553004

The Role Of Stress In The Relationship Between Sleep Quality And Evoked Chronic Low Back Pain 

Jon G. Dean, Lora Khatib, Valeria Oliva, Gabriel Riegner, Nailea Gonzalez, Gael Cruanes, Mikaila Reyes, Noah Hollenbeck, Zara Nazir, Carolina Lopez, Alessandro Allen, Nikhil Jampana, Richard Fuentes, Tina Dang, Hyun-Chung Kim, Marta Patterson, Julia Birenbaum, Jacob Ross, Jennifer Miller, Mark Wallace, Krishnan Chakravarthy, and Fadel Zeidan; University of California, San Diego DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2023.02.040

Short-Acting Tryptamines as Alternative Treatments for Substance-Use Disorders Literature Review

Richard Fuentes DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.20599.80805

Addressing the Diverse Needs of Patients: Implementing an Integrative Approach to Mental Health

Richard Fuentes DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.16698.98243

HOBBIES

Activism & Volunteering, SCUBA + Freediving, Yoga & Meditation, Poetry & Doodling, Cooking & Eating, Music & Dancing, Skateboarding, Rock Climbing, Rollerblading, Hammocking, Backpacking, Jiu Jitsu & Grappling.