Avens O’Brien is a 2nd-generation libertarian activist based in Los Angeles. The product of peaceful parenting, non-traditional education, & family who campaigned for political office as Libertarians in New Hampshire in the 70s and 80s, Avens was Vice Chair of the LPNH from 2006-2008, & has volunteered on several liberty campaigns, including local races & presidential – Badnarik in 2004, Ron Paul (primary) in 2008, McAfee (primary) & Johnson (general) in 2016, Supreme (primary) & Jorgensen (general) in 2020.

From 2013-2014, she worked at Euro Pacific Capital for Peter Schiff, where she assisted in a bridge fundraising round of $3 million for a digital media advertising company, Thoughtful Media Group (TMG), & was then hired as the Financial Operations Manager of TMG in 2014 until 2016. During her time in the financial management team at TMG, the valuation of the company rose from $30M to $80M, & saw revenue increases of nearly 100% year over year. She continues her relationship with TMG as both an investor & consultant. She spent 5 years working in the cannabis industry in Los Angeles working as an operations executive and managing a grow as well.

Avens is currently Director of Development at Advanced Mycology, an LA-based company pioneering decentralized access to psilocybin through grow-your-own-mushroom kits for consumers. She is also a cofounder of Coast 2 Coast Mycology, a company focused on award-winning mycology genetics. She does psychedelic research, education & advocacy through her brand @YourTripSister on Instagram and Tiktok.

She considers herself a “Facebook agitator”, has contributed articles to The Libertarian Republic, Thoughts on Liberty & has been featured in Reason Magazine in interviews & panels. She is on the Board of Directors of Feminists for Liberty. In 2013, she began taking photos beside her partner Judd Weiss at events & conferences, & has adopted his mission of helping make liberty look good, with thousands of photos at events to her credit. She’s a frequent guest of podcasts, conferences, & on panels discussing both online & offline liberty activism, feminism, psychedelics, millennials, Burning Man culture, & other hot topics. You can find her work at http://avens.me.