After doing considerable research, I decided not to move forward with ceremonies at the Leaf and deVine Church as overall, it and particularly its leader, appeared to be rather shady. This is what I discovered. There are no shamans at this facility. Rather it is run by a self-proclaimed medicine woman, Kyra Gervais Wright. She claims, in their website, to hold a Doctorate in Education, though peculiarly, the initials “ABD” follow this statement. “ABD” in fact means that Ms. Wright does not have a Doctorate degree. Rather, the initials stand for “All But Dissertation”. Essentially, Ms. Wright is misrepresenting her educational qualifications. She may have done some coursework towards a Doctorate degree in Education, however, she either never wrote her dissertation in the first instance or she wrote her dissertation but never defended it. Simply, she does not hold a Doctorate degree and has misrepresented her credentials. Conveniently, she also fails to note what university she obtained her ‘fake’ Doctorate from. The dubious nature of her professional qualificatons do not end there. Ms. Wright appears to be licensed as an educator in both Colorado and Texas, however, her Texas license has an “inscribed reprimand” noted on it effective August 14, 2019. Details of why Ms. Wright was disciplined by the State of Texas as an educator are unavailable at present, however a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request has been filed with the Texas State Board for Educator Certification to ascertain the reason. Stay tuned. Word to the wise — DO NOT TRUST ANYONE WHO LIES ABOUT THEIR EDUCATION CREDENTIALS AND HAS BEEN DISCIPLINED IN THEIR CHOSEN PROFESSION! Moreeover, the Leaf and deVine Church is not a church at all. It is not registered as a 501(c)(3), a charity or a church either with the IRS or with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, and as such, is not a non-profit. It is instead clearly a “for profit” organization. Along these lines, in 2006 Ms. Wright set up a company in Colorado called “Gervais Ministries” however that company was declared “delinquent” by the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. Also troubling is that in the last 10 years, Ms. Wright has moved around quite a bit – from Colorado to Texas, back to Colorado, to Illinois, back to Colorado, back to Texas, to New Mexico and now back in Colorado. She has lived or used 20 different residential addresses over that 10 year time-frame. Aliases that she has used include Gervais Wright, Krystal Wright, Kyra A. Wright, Kyra Gervais Wright, Kyra M. Wright, Kyra Wright and Kyra Wright Gervais. Despite whatever noble intentions Ms. Wright and her “church” have, the bottom line for them is their bottom line — perpetually advertising on Facebook, selling places in their ceremonies at $575 a pop, selling Ayahuasca micro-doses online, selling hape and cacao ceremonies, selling private Ayahuasca ceremonies, selling and up-marketing additional Ayahuasca ceremonies at their $575 Ayahuasca ceremonies. Quite simply, It’s all about making money for Ms Wright and her “church” and nothing else. Even when it comes to holding their group ceremonies, they encourage their celebrants to bring supplies which they promise are included in the price of admission — “bring toilet paper, bring paper towels, bring fire wood, bring Kleenex, bring trash bags, bring battery operated candles, bring watermelon, bring strawberries, bring blueberries” they beg of their followers. The participants out of the goodness of their hearts appear to eagerly supply whatever is asked for. Anyone who is considering an Ayahuasca journey MUST do research on the providers or facilitators and using plant medicine. Dr Joe Tafur, a medical doctor and the author of the seminal Ayahuasca book “The Fellowship of the River” advised me last week that he has never heard of the Ms. Wright or the Leaf and deVine Church, nor can he vouch for either of them. He stated to me “you should be careful who you sit with” and it is “best to have a personal recommendation”. Additionally, I would suggest that people go to plantmedicine.org and listen to their very informative podcasts, to get a view on, among other things, what one should look for in a reputable Ayahuasca retreat and what people should beware of, particularly in terms of the person who heads the retreat.