Throughout his professional and academic career, Kenneth Tupper has advanced new ideas about drugs, education and public health.

For over 25 years, Kenneth has done interdisciplinary research in public health and transformative education. In particular, he focused on how the circumspect use of psychedelic substances or visionary plants can promote cognitive enhancement, evoke experiences of wonder and awe, and inform new approaches to mental health and social well-being. Kenneth earned his Ph.D. in Education Studies from the University of British Columbia (2011), a Masters of Arts in Education from Simon Fraser University (2002) and a Bachelor of Arts (English and Philosophy double major) from Simon Fraser University (1996).

Alongside his academic pursuits, Kenneth spent almost twenty years leading the development of public health-based drug policies at the British Columbia Ministry of Health, in the areas of substance use prevention, harm reduction and addiction treatment. In this role he oversaw school-based drug education resource development, community-based overdose response interventions (e.g., naloxone distribution, supervised consumption services, and drug checking services), and health system restructuring to optimize opioid agonist treatment (OAT). Kenneth worked closely with stakeholders across public health, mental health and education sectors, including Indigenous partners and people with lived experience, and was twice been appointed to Canadian delegations to high-level United Nations international drug policy meetings.

Today, Kenneth is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria, and a sought-after consultant in the areas of public health, mental wellness and drug education, and psychedelic medicine.