26 June 2026
A Small Piece of Something Greater: Found & Found, DanceSafe, and the Legacy of Sasha Shulgin
An Interview with Rudy Maldonado, Volunteer and Community Manager at MAPS
By: Grace Cepe
MAPS Bulletin: Volume XXXVI
A couple of months ago, Rudy and I were talking on the phone when he told me he had been offered a great opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind version of his Found & Found wooden necklaces using some broken glass from the historic Shulgin lab for The Sasha Shulgin Legacy to Artistry Laboratory Glass Project, a collaborative project between DanceSafe and The Shulgin Foundation. DanceSafe and The Shulgin Foundation co-created this art project to preserve psychedelic culture, sell beautiful art, and fundraise to support their mission-driven programs advancing science, education, and public health.
Through our many years of being colleagues and friends, I have been privileged to witness how Rudy turns woodworking into unique pieces of jewelry. When the Shulgin Legacy Glass Project launched last Friday, I was especially awestruck by the historical depth and cultural connections embedded in this necklace, as well as by the interconnectedness of this art collection within the psychedelic ecosystem.
The Shulgin Foundation preserves the cultural and educational legacy of Sasha and Ann Shulgin’s chemical exploration into human consciousness. Sasha Shulgin is widely known as the brilliant chemist who re-synthesized MDMA and other psychedelics in his lab in Lafayette, California, in the 1970s. After re-synthesizing MDMA, Shulgin gave MDMA to the psychotherapist Leo Zeff, who introduced it to a network of psychotherapists before the drug’s prohibition. These therapists would discover that MDMA-assisted therapy could be a powerful method for helping people heal and process traumatic memories.
In 1985, the DEA announced it was placing MDMA in Schedule I on an emergency basis – the first time the DEA had attempted to emergency schedule any drug. One year later, Rick Doblin founded MAPS with the mission to create safe access for MDMA-assisted therapy through legal and regulated pathways. In another setting, MDMA, or Ecstasy, was being used in the underground rave scenes. People would feel euphoric, deeply connected, and free to dance for hours through the night under the influence of these substances – but, since there were no testing kits or regulated access to a safe supply, in some instances people died or became hospitalized after consuming contaminated drug mixtures, dehydration, overhydration, or other health consequences.
Thus, in 1998, DanceSafe was created to serve the rave scene’s public health needs in the wake of the War on Drugs. It became one of the first harm reduction services to serve the nightlife scene, and now dedicated volunteers distribute a range of gear, including earplugs, educational literature, hydration packs, condoms, and tools and resources for overdose prevention and safer drug use.
Today, DanceSafe remains one of the foremost providers of harm-reduction education and supplies in the United States. For nearly three decades, DanceSafe has helped keep the communities that use MDMA and other psychedelics safe in the absence of a safer, regulated supply.
MAPS, DanceSafe, and the Shulgin Foundation each occupy distinct yet complementary corners of the psychedelic landscape, united by a shared commitment to reducing harm and expanding evidence-based education. Together, these three organizations reflect the full arc of the psychedelic field — from synthesizing compounds, to therapeutic healing, to dancing in the underground, to reforming drug policy, to preserving cultural history — each insisting, in its own way, that knowledge, safety, and human dignity belong at the center of how we relate to these substances.
So when I saw Rudy’s necklace, Safe Spaces, I had to ask him what this collaboration means for DanceSafe and the Shulgin Foundation — and take the chance to reminisce about our time at the old MAPS headquarters in Santa Cruz.
This interview took place on June 22, 2026, and has been edited for length and clarity.
Photo courtesy of Found & Found
Grace Cepe: Hi, Rudy!
Rudy Maldonado: Hey, Grace.
How are you doing?
I’m good, excited for this. Appreciate you doing this with me.
Yeah, me too. I was really excited to see Safe Spaces go live on Found & Found’s and DanceSafe’s Instagram. I remember you saying that your necklace holds a fragment of Sasha Shulgin’s actual laboratory glass, and it’s encased in old-growth redwood reclaimed from the former MAPS headquarters in Santa Cruz. Can you tell me how this project came together and what you learned about the power of cross-organizational collaboration?
Yeah, absolutely. So there was a call to artists on DanceSafe’s Instagram. As soon as I saw it, I thought about what it would be like to collaborate and work with something as special as the Shulgin glass. After I was accepted, I looked at the idea of this cross-collaboration as a physical way for me to express my gratitude to MAPS and DanceSafe. It’s kind of funny to me that the idea of cross-collaborations between organizations has already been happening in my life for years. For as long as I’ve been around, whether it’s working at MAPS, going to festivals, or being part of the psychedelic community, I’ve known DanceSafe. And in my lived experience with both organizations, we constantly collaborate. We constantly have these intersections with each other. I love being able to do outreach for MAPS and see DanceSafe in these physical spaces. I’ve gotten to share my knowledge with them or receive knowledge about their visions and practices. So this was another way for me to take that appreciation for both organizations and bring them into a singular piece of art. It was a really close-to-heart experience for me.
Photo courtesy of Rudy Maldonado
Yeah, it’s true – MAPS and DanceSafe have had a long collaborative history! I’ve had similar knowledge-sharing interactions with DanceSafe volunteers at events, too, like Lightning In A Bottle.
You’ve mentioned that you’re using the redwood from the previous MAPS headquarters, along with the Shulgin glass incorporated into it. Can you just tell me a little bit more about your creative process in making it?
The goal was to take the Shulgin glass and have it be encased in the MAPS redwood while remaining visible from all four angles. It’s something that represents a container of love and safety in the way that MAPS works to bring forward safe and legal access to compounds like MDMA and psychedelics as a whole with care, support, clarity, and transparency. Personally, I think it also resembles an hourglass, just sort of capturing what time looks like, as if sand were pouring through it. Safe Spaces is really metaphorical and physical, and I want that to speak to people.
Making a one-of-one piece of jewelry feels special to me. When I envisioned making this pendant, I wanted to encourage the wearer to remember to zoom out and realize how many people MAPS and DanceSafe have helped throughout the decades. While they’re wearing this necklace, they should know it’s no coincidence that this pendant rests on the heart. Another important connective symbol is that this wood is sourced from redwoods, and it carries the foundation that the trees are incredible space-holders. This is why I named this necklace “Safe Spaces”: there are layers upon layers of what a safe space means to us. There are safe spaces within nature and the forest, as there are safe spaces that MAPS and DanceSafe hope to create.
Man, I really miss the MAPS office. We started working together there! You brought me on as a volunteer, and we would pack boxes of materials so that we could table at events together. What was your fondest memory working there?
I think my fondest memory was the day that I was accepted as a lead volunteer for Psychedelic Science 2017. That was the day when I felt like I was seen for my potential in being involved with MAPS, and it was one of the most validating days of my life at that point, considering all of the things that I was working through.
So when we decided to close the office in 2020, we had to pack all these valuables and historical items and keep them safe. MAPS had a lot of relics, including some of the Shulgin glass from the lab. I kept thinking about the front office sign during the packing process, and I knew it would be irreplaceable, so I wanted to save it. After asking for permission, I was told I could salvage the wood. I just knew that one day the history of this wood would be recognized by people with a high appreciation for MAPS and psychedelic history. And so here we are! I used the wood to create Safe Spaces.
Photo courtesy of MAPS
Love that. So on top of being MAPS’ Volunteer and Community Manager, you’re the owner and designer for Found & Found. Can you walk us through what Found & Found stands for and how woodworking became the medium through which you express your values that are so deeply tied to the psychedelic and healing ecosystem?
Happily! So Found & Found was founded on a practice that helped me as a teenager. I spent a lot of time in nature, hiking, and seeing the many therapeutic effects, like letting my mind clear and actually opening up to creativity through my own curiosity. I grew up working a lot of construction to help support my family, so when I would find a piece of wood on the ground, I wanted to take that piece home and figure out what I could make from it. What that evolved into within my work is this cycle of going out, collecting all sorts of stories, and working with all sorts of communities via MAPS, trying to bridge gaps between like-minded people and organizations. I’ve also learned that in order for me to show up for anyone else, I needed to show up for myself. That meant going back out into nature, reconnecting and processing, and then taking those lessons and integrating them into action within my work. That’s a cycle that continues over and over and over.
Makes sense! You’ve also shared how you’ve integrated some past pains into your work with Found & Found. You know, throughout the years, you’ve been very open about your history navigating the criminal justice system. In 2021, you wrote an article for the Bulletin called “Dear Daniel,” where you shared your side project of sending some of MAPS’ books to folks in prison. You also opened up about facing an unjust felony conviction in 2009. How did your own journey through the justice system and then through psychedelic healing inform your work?
Being falsely incarcerated was a huge shock to my system; it upended my understanding of how I imagined my life would go. I began experimenting with psilocybin mushrooms while I was on bail and navigating the criminal legal system. Each time I dosed, I realized that my nervous system would feel momentarily present and regulated; I was able to socialize amongst friends, rather than feel the terror of facing up to four years in prison.
In retrospect, I realized that I was coming face-to-face with a system that forced me to surrender my rights. Psychedelics helped me have these hard conversations with myself and reclaim my agency. I surrendered what control I wanted in this situation and began accepting that I would get through this hardship regardless of the outcome. Working with the same woods that held space for me during the scariest moments of my life is an honor to reflect on each time I use a sander, chop some wood, or apply oil to a necklace.
Photo courtesy of Rudy Maldonado
Yeah, you’ve definitely evolved so much ever since that time in your life.
Yep, it was unexpected and horrible at times. But I’m here now at this capacity because of it.
So, Rudy, you now sit at a very fascinating intersection: you work at MAPS, you’ve collaborated with DanceSafe, and now your work with Found & Found is part of Shulgin’s living legacy. As someone who has been in the psychedelic ecosystem for at least 11 years, you’ve witnessed a lot of change and growth. Do you have any imparting messages to share with the broader community?
That’s a great question. I initially came into the psychedelic space as a volunteer who learned a lot of lessons through the use of psychedelics. That really sparked a willingness to do whatever it takes to be part of the movement, and as the years went on, I learned to keep exploring how I wanted to show up for myself and others. That meant leaning into my creativity and care for my community and letting those pieces of me develop.
There’s this aspect of seeing organizations that you believe in, and you see what they’ve accomplished, and you ask yourself, ” How can I support what they’re doing?” There are so many ways to do that. Volunteering is definitely one of them, and donating is another way.
DanceSafe and The Shulgin Foundation are organizations that have proven themselves to be truly in service of providing harm reduction tools and values-based education to our psychedelic community. I was very honored to support them in this way, and I hope whoever’s reading this would consider donating to their missions. (Or purchase Safe Spaces!)
Rudy Maldonado
Rudy Maldonado is the Volunteer & Community Manager for MAPS, where he bridges connections between nonprofit organizations and volunteers within the psychedelic community. His role revolves around inclusive volunteer coordination, particularly for marginalized groups seeking mental health support and education.
In 2009, Rudy faced an unjust felony conviction, leading him to personally experience the flaws within the existing justice system. Immediately following his initial arrest, Rudy found solace and healing through psychedelics and his artistic endeavors, turning to the psychedelic and mental health community for support.
Since then, Rudy has dedicated himself to expanding educational avenues for those seeking mental health information and community. He has cultivated a network of communicators, volunteers, and project collaborators, all dedicated to advancing mental health awareness within the realm of psychedelic therapy.
Grace Cepe
Grace Cepe (she/her) serves as the Executive Manager of Programs for MAPS. She earned her B.A. in psychology cum laude from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). At UCSC, Grace was a research assistant for the social psychology department’s Sexual and Gender Diversity Laboratory, an instructor’s assistant for an introductory psychology course, and a residential counselor intern for at-risk foster youth. Before joining MAPS, Grace volunteered with MAPS, San Francisco Psychedelic Society, and the Chacruna Institute, and advocated for a local decriminalization bill in Santa Cruz.
Since attending MAPS’ Psychedelic Science Conference in 2017, she has deepened her interests in culturally-adaptive psychedelic-assisted therapy, careful research methodologies, and honest evidence-based drug education. Outside of MAPS, Grace loves reading critical consciousness theories, hiking in woodsy petrichor, and oscillating between many genres of music.
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