About Us | Vilomah Foundation

Our Story

Unable to access meaningful mental healthcare, my son Tyler sought relief through substances and struggled for years to overcome his dependence. We searched desperately for something that could truly help him, but faced barriers at every turn: long waitlists, underfunded programs, inadequate care, and a system that prioritized punishment over healing. Even when he was able to enter treatment, he was rarely offered evidence-based care, denied medical and mental health services, and forced into environments that did more to shame than to support.

As his health declined, I learned of a promising treatment that was not offered in the U.S. But like so many families fighting for their child’s survival, we ran out of time. Bureaucratic hurdles, outdated policies, and systemic failures left us with no options. On October 5, 2020, I lost my son. Since then, I have dedicated my life to creating real solutions as well as reducing the stigma associated with substance use, mental illness, and grief.

At the root of so many of our societal issues is a profound disconnection: from ourselves, from one another, and from the natural world. My son’s death was not just a personal tragedy; it was the result of a system that pathologizes pain, criminalizes need, and isolates those who are suffering. In losing him, I came to see how deeply we have abandoned the wisdom of connection, and how we’ve built systems that reward performance over presence and control over compassion. I believe reclaiming that connection is where healing lives, and it is necessary for our collective survival.

I stand with all of you as you attempt to navigate this journey. Together, we can honor our loved ones by supporting each other, expanding access to compassionate, evidence-based care, and ensuring that future generations have the support, dignity, and opportunities they deserve.

In solidarity,
Susan Ousterman, Founder & Executive Director

Our Leadership Team

The Vilomah Foundation’s Board of Directors provides governance, strategic oversight, and supports the foundation’s operations, which are led by Executive Director, Susan Ousterman.

Central to Vilomah’s work is addressing the economic, social, and cultural injustices that have perpetuated the mental health crisis. Vilomah seeks not only to save lives but also to help individuals reconnect with their life purpose, fostering personal transformation and societal healing. Guided by the Board of Directors and supported by an advisory board of subject matter experts, the Foundation is dedicated to building a more connected, compassionate, and just society.

President

Kathleen Cochran

Kathleen is committed to education, evidence-based practices, and advocacy in the field of substance use with decades of leadership experience. As the founder of Moms for All Paths to Recovery, she is a fierce advocate for expanding access to diverse and effective treatment. She is deeply committed to advancing the foundation’s mission to create equitable access to ibogaine.

Kathleen’s professional background includes an illustrious career in hospitality, having managed high-end luxury hotels and resorts across the nation, including 24 years with Loews Hotels and serving as the Managing Director of The Plaza Hotel in New York City. She is currently the Alisal Guest Ranch Resort & Spa General Manager in California’s Santa Ynez Valley, where her focus on community and connection underscores her leadership style.

A peer coach with the Partnership to End Addiction and fully trained in the Invitation to Change Approach (ITC) through the Center for Motivation and Change, Kathleen blends her lived experience with her daughter’s decades of substance use with a commitment to evidence-based practices. Her story and advocacy were recently featured in the documentary Untreated & Unheard, highlighting her dedication to amplifying the voices of families affected by substance use.

As President, Kathleen leads with compassion and vision, working to ensure Vilomah’s efforts honor those lost to preventable deaths of despair while fostering healing and building a more just and equitable society.

Executive Director

Susan Ousterman

Susan is a fearless advocate and visionary thinker committed to transforming mental health and substance use treatment while addressing the systemic failures that perpetuate preventable deaths of despair. For six years, she navigated stigma, misinformation, and a deeply flawed healthcare system in her relentless effort to help her son Tyler access effective treatment for his opioid addiction. After losing Tyler in October 2020, Susan embraced the belief that such losses are a universal call to action—channeling the powerful forces of grief and love to demand systemic change and foster a more compassionate, connected society. Grounded in a deep commitment to integrity and transparency, Susan approaches her work with humility, a willingness to learn, and an unrelenting determination to improve the system. She believes that meaningful solutions emerge through listening, collaboration, and the courage to challenge entrenched norms. Her efforts are driven by a dedication to dismantling stigma, advancing innovative therapies, empowering others, and ensuring equitable access to care. Through extensive research into ibogaine and other plant medicines, Susan has developed a deep conviction in their potential to address the root causes of problematic substance use. She is committed to ensuring these groundbreaking therapies remain in the public domain—accessible to all who need them—and integrating them into patient-focused, individualized care models that promote healing, dignity, and empowerment. With a professional background in publishing and communication, Susan uses her skills and lived experience to advocate for meaningful policy reforms. Her ultimate goal is to transform the substance use and mental health treatment landscape into one that addresses underlying causes, and promotes self-actualization for individuals and communities alike.

Treasurer

Nicole Nichols

Nicole is a dedicated advocate for creating compassionate, evidence-based solutions for substance use disorder and improving outcomes for all vulnerable populations. As a mother, Nicole is deeply committed to building a gentler path for future generations, inspired by her vision of a more equitable and supportive system of care. Professionally, Nicole brings extensive expertise in healthcare finance and regulatory navigation. Her career includes serving as a comptroller for a specialty healthcare finance group and as the president of a company specializing in medical fraud, waste, and abuse prevention and remediation. Nicole is also an expert in navigating federal regulatory frameworks, particularly those governing DEA Schedule I research, a critical area for advancing studies on innovative treatments for substance use disorder and mental health. Nicole’s unique blend of professional financial experience and personal passion drives her efforts to contribute meaningfully to the movement for systemic change, ensuring better access to care, equity, and dignity for those in need.

Secretary, Memorial Gardens Program Director

Sandra Chavez

Sandra is a passionate advocate for drug policy reform, driven by her personal experience navigating the healthcare system on behalf of her late son, Jeffrey. During her career in sub-acute healthcare, Sandra honed her skills as an effective patient advocate. However, she was unprepared for the barriers created by stigma when advocating for Jeffrey’s medical and mental health treatment. Prescribed opioids for an injury at just 15 years old, Jeffrey’s journey highlighted numerous systemic failures—from inadequate support in methadone clinics to cardiologists who denied him the surgery that could have saved his life. Tragically, Jeffrey passed away at the age of 24 in 2012. Since Jeffrey’s death, Sandra has become a dedicated voice in the fight for change. She has organized local events for International Overdose Awareness Day, participated in national rallies, and shared Jeffrey’s heartbreaking story to raise awareness and push for drug policy reform. Her advocacy spans her home state of California and Washington, D.C., with a long-term goal of establishing a Ryan White-type program for intravenous drug use (IVDU)-related endocarditis—a critical yet overlooked issue within the broader addiction crisis. Sandra’s work is rooted in honoring Jeffrey’s memory and ensuring that others facing similar struggles receive the compassionate care and systemic support they deserve.

Our Advisory Board

Ben Askins, PA-C, M-Div

Podcast Host and Author
The Anti-Hero's Journey
Louisville, KY

Jessie Dunleavy

Author and Drug Policy Reform Advocate
Annapolis, MD

Valerie Felici

Veteran Philadelphia Police Officer

Founder of Never Surrender Hope

Philadelphia, PA

Laura Guzman

Executive Director
National Harm Reduction Coalition
San Leandro, California

Ryan Hampton

Best-selling author and Co-Founder of Mobilize Recovery
Las Vegas, NV

Peter Hendricks, PhD

UAB Professor and Heersink Endowed Chair of Psychiatry

Birmingham, AL

Norma Lotsof

Ibogaine Pioneer
New York, NY

Jose Martinez

Capacity Building + Hepatitis C Coordinator,
National Harm Reduction Coalition
Buffalo, NY

Juliana Mulligan, LMSW

Founder
Inner Vision Ibogaine
Brooklyn, NY

Marianne Sinisi

Founder
Families United for Change
Altoona, PA

Jennifer Steere

Operations Director
Langhorne, PA

Joanna Hively

Program Coordinator
American Friends Service Committee
Beckley, WV

att.MikQDk7ByafVP2A9EISnJIkApom91jwoYBfggZYsceM.jpg

Jeremy Weate, PhD

Board of Directors
Global Iboga Therapy Alliance (GITA)
Bristol, UK

Screen Shot 2024-12-02 at 6.07.00 AM.png

Clare Wilkins

Pangea Biomedics, Director

Board of Directors, GITA

Sharon White, BS, MS

Performance Consultant Owner, at GRIP Dynamics LLC
Lansdowne, PA

Cara Wykowski

Grief Educator
Oakland, CA

Deran Young, LCSW

Best-selling Author, Founder & CEO, Black Therapists Rock
Rockville, MD

Our Mission and Values

Our Mission

The Vilomah Foundation is a nonpartisan, solutions-driven organization led by families who have endured the profound injustice of losing loved ones to preventable deaths. That grief is not only personal, it is a call to action to guide our society toward greater compassion and connection. We are dedicated to honoring the lives of those we lost by reducing deaths of despair, supporting families, and addressing the ongoing harms of of U.S. drug policy.

We advocate to advance sensible reforms, support novel and evidence-based research, and expand access to innovative treatments that protect public health, strengthen communities, and bring healing, dignity, and hope to families everywhere.

Our Values

Justice with Integrity: We pursue accountability not for vengeance, but to improve outcomes and prevent future harm.

Respect for All: We honor every voice, culture, and perspective, recognizing that healing requires inclusion and restoration of balance.

Dignity in Grief: We refuse to be tokenized or have our grief weaponized to serve harmful agendas.

Healing and Restoration: We focus on solutions that reconnect people to themselves, their communities, and the natural order.

Commitment to Learning: We seek truth through continual learning and share knowledge openly, ensuring education empowers individuals and communities.

Research Statement

The Vilomah Foundation advances novel, evidence-based research to address the root causes of preventable deaths of despair. We believe lifesaving treatments like ibogaine must be developed in the public domain—safe from exploitation and accessible to all. Our work emphasizes safety, transparency, and equity while honoring the lived experience of families and the wisdom of indigenous traditions.

By supporting innovative research alongside compassionate care and grounding our work in respect and reciprocity, we aim to create sustainable solutions that restore health, dignity, and hope to communities devastated by the mental health and substance use crises.