Anja Saloranta

“We are all just walking each other home.” - Ram Dass 

Her Role

As Chief Operating Officer at Beckley Retreats, Anja is responsible for building and stewarding the operational infrastructure behind every retreat experience. She leads the systems, teams, and processes that allow Beckley to deliver programs that are deeply impactful and rooted in a culture of safety - and to grow with integrity. Her work is grounded in a belief that operational rigor and genuine human care are not in tension; done well, they make each other possible.

Her Story

Anja has spent her career building and scaling service businesses in complex, human-centered environments. At Ginkgo Bioworks, she built a COVID biosecurity operation from zero to over $300 million in annual revenue, growing a team of 120 to reach more than 5,300 organizations nationwide. Before that, she served as COO of Ballentine Partners, a multi-family office, where she led strategy, operations, and organizational development. Earlier in her career, she worked in venture capital and private equity. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. from the University of Maine.

Her path to Beckley began not with a single moment, but with a body of evidence and a gentle inner tug. A longtime practitioner of yoga and meditation, she has understood the value of contemplative inner work. When she encountered the emerging science on psilocybin - particularly its potential to help people confronting their own mortality or processing trauma - the convergence of data and lived experience felt both compelling and clarifying.

Her Why

Anja believes that everyone has the right to thrive. She is drawn to Beckley Retreats because the work is grounded in science, the care is genuine, and the potential to meaningfully reduce human suffering is real. "The evidence is pointing toward something important," she says. "And I want to help build the foundation that makes it accessible." She brings to her role a curious, analytically minded disposition and a deep commitment to holding people well, especially in moments of transformation.