Paul Stamets

Paul Stamets, speaker, author, mycologist, medical researcher and entrepreneur, is considered an intellectual and industry leader in fungi: habitat, medicinal use, and production.  He lectures extensively to deepen the understanding and respect for the organisms that literally exist under every footstep taken on this path of life.  His presentations cover a range of mushroom species and research showing how mushrooms can help the health of people and planet.  His central premise is that habitats have immune systems, just like people, and mushrooms are cellular bridges between the two.  Our close evolutionary relationship to fungi can be the basis for novel pairings in the microbiome that lead to greater sustainability and immune enhancement.

Paul’s philosophy is that “MycoDiversity is BioSecurity.”  He sees the ancient Old Growth forests of the Pacific Northwest as a resource of incalculable value, especially in terms of its fungal genome.  A dedicated hiker and explorer, his passion is to preserve and protect as many ancestral strains of mushrooms as possible from these pristine woodlands.  His research is considered breakthrough by thought leaders for creating a paradigm shift for helping ecosystems worldwide.

Paul is the author of six books (including Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, Growing Gourmet & Medicinal Mushrooms, and Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World), he has discovered and named numerous new species of psilocybin mushrooms.

He has received numerous awards, including: Invention Ambassador (2014-2015) for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Mycologist Award (2014) from the North American Mycological Association (NAMA), and the Gordon & Tina Wasson Award (2015) from the Mycological Society of America (MSA).   Paul’s extensive work in the field of mycology has earned him an official induction into The Explorers Club (2020).

His work has entered into the mainstream of popular culture.  In the new Star Trek: Discovery series on CBS, the Science Officer is portrayed by an Astromycologist.... a Lt. Paul Stamets.  Paul's work with mycelium is a central theme of this series.

Paul funds research to save rare strains of mushrooms that dwell within the old growth forests. He is a collaborator with numerous scientific organizations and research institutes. Currently he is testing extracts of these rare strains at the NIH (National Institutes of Health/Virology) and with Washington State University/United States Department of Agriculture against a wide panel of viruses pathogenic to humans, animals and bees.

“We are now fully engaged in the sixth Major Extinction (“6 X”) on planet Earth. Our biosphere is quickly changing, eroding the life support systems that have allowed humans to ascend. Unless we put into action policies and technologies that can cause a course correction in the very near future, species diversity will continue to plummet, with humans not only being the primary cause, but one of the victims. What can we do? Fungi, particularly mushrooms, offer some powerful, practical solutions, which can be put into practice now.”

Learn More at:
www.Fungi.com 

David Karr

David Karr is the Chief Brand Cebador of Guayaki Yerba Mate Co, inc., a company he co-founded with Alex Pryor, his “soul brother” in 1996.   As the brand steward, David is responsible for the look, feel and story of Guayaki including all media, marketing and retail activities.   Guayaki’s vision is to inspire us all to come to life.  Our mission is to steward the spirit of yerba mate from seed to shelf to power market driven regeneration to catalyze vibrant ecosystems and communities.

David is committed to creating sustainable, regenerating enterprises that nourish the planet and humanity. He lives on his community farm on Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada with his wife Jennifer Lloyd and two boys Alex and Rio. 

Sebastopol, CA

Learn More:

www.Guayaki.com 

Antoinette Marquez

Antoinette has a rich and diverse background in health, diet, and wellness education. She has a deep love for and is a lifetime student and practitioner of traditional medicines and ancestral esoteric health practices.

Her latest work,The Longevity Revolution, is the first Thalassotherapy manual written originally in English. A certified Thalassotherapist, Antoinette is a seaweed expert with her own proprietary Thalassotherapy marine skincare line, Ama Sea Beauty. Antoinette formulates with sustainably wild harvested California sea plants. Through her work in ethical and sustainable business models, Antoinette brings awareness and application of Blue/Green economies to a wider American audience. She further supports this work through her sea farm, PharmerSea, a 25-acre start-up sea farm in Santa Barbara, CA. where she is actively engaged in the fight against climate change. Antoinette plans to propel an American Aquaculture industry through these kelp restoration efforts. 

Chef Sean Sherman

Founder/CEO The Sioux Chef, co-founder of NATIFS 

Chef Sean Sherman, Oglala Lakota, born in Pine Ridge, SD, has been cooking across the US and Mexico over the past 30 years, and has become renowned nationally and internationally in the culinary movement of indigenous foods. His main focus has been on the revitalization and evolution of indigenous foods systems throughout North America. Chef Sean has studied on his own extensively to determine the foundations of these food systems to gain a full understanding of bringing back a sense of Native American cuisine to today’s world. In 2014, he opened the business titled, The Sioux Chef as a caterer and food educator in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area.  He and his business partner Dana Thompson also designed and opened the Tatanka Truck, which featured 100% pre-contact foods of the Dakota and Minnesota territories.  

In October 2017, Sean was able to perform the first decolonized dinner at the James Beard House in Manhattan along with his team. His first book, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen was awarded the James Beard medal for Best American Cookbook for 2018 and was chosen one of the top ten cookbooks of 2017 by the LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle as well as the Smithsonian Magazine. Also that year, Chef Sean was selected as a Bush Fellow, as well as receiving the 2019 Leadership Award by the James Beard Foundation. The Sioux Chef team continues with their mission to help educate and make indigenous foods more accessible to as many communities as possible through the recently founded nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS). Through this entity, Sean sees this vision as even more relevant in the time of COVID. Educating the world on localizing food systems is critical and we believe that we can leverage NATIFS to expedite this mission. 

Learn more at www.natifs.org.

Photo credit: Heidi Ehalt

Rich Awn

Founder of Mombucha, this Kombucha brewing expert will be sharing his secrets and showing you how kombucha craft can launch your new business.

Greenpoint, NYC

Ryan Black

Ryan Black is the CEO and co-founder of SAMBAZON, the industry leader in Açai and the first brand to bring Açai from the Brazilian Amazon to the United States. Black is a pioneer in the natural foods industry, creating the company in 2000 with his brother Jeremy Black and friend Ed “Skanda” Nichols after a surf trip to Brazil.

After eating his first Açai bowl, Black saw an opportunity to create nutritious, Açai-based products to share with people all over the world while committing to a socially- and environmentally-conscious business model. This was before buzzwords like social responsibility and entrepreneurship existed, and from day one, Black has ensured that SAMBAZON stays true to its founding principles and commitment to doing good. In addition, Black paved the way in helping create the current organic and fair trade certification standards for wild-harvesting the Açai crop where they did not previously exist. SAMBAZON continues to operate under the Triple Bottom Line philosophy, which measures success economically, socially and environmentally. This progressive, forward-thinking culture is thread through the fabric of SAMBAZON today.

Black is also the co-founder of the tri.org, a non-profit organization working to empower and educate people into mobilizing and building a more conscious future, socially, in sustainability and economically. Together, with like-minded partners, SAMBAZON, Thrive Market, Numi Tea and Dr. Bronner’s, Black and the tri.org are working to build a community of activists, conscious warriors and change makers.

Prior to co-founding SAMBAZON, Black received his BA in Finance at the University of Colorado at Boulder, then played in the NFL and in European Football Leagues. Now, Black lives near the beach in San Clemente, CA and his passions include travel, music, and surfing. He speaks multiple languages, and credits his time in Boulder and his international football career as the stepping-stones to building a socially-responsible, international business.

Dr. Alicia Spalding

Founder of Nature Nurture Farmacy, Dr. Alicia Spalding is a practicing ND sharing healing foods and lifestyles with her bioregion. Learn how she started her nonprofit and has been pairing medicine with the garden!

Winlock, Washington

Neal Spackman

The designer, manager, and leader behind the success of the Al Baydha project which successfully greened a large area of non-arable land in Saudi Arabia, Neal Spackman has studied entrepreneurism at Stanford and is currently launching a new project. Learn from this amazing regenerative entrepreneur!!

Utah/Saudi Arabia

Dr. Elaine Ingham, B.A., M.S., Ph.D.

Founder and President, Soil Foodweb Inc.

Director, Soil Food Web School

Dr. Ingham has pioneered research in the field of Soil Biology over the last 4 decades and is widely recognized as the world's foremost soil biologist.

Behind Dr. Ingham’s user-friendly approach to soil biology lies a wealth of knowledge and research on the different groups of microorganisms that make up the Soil Food Web.

Her goal is to empower people to bring the soils in their communities back to life using the science of the Soil Food Web. Dr. Ingham's revolutionary approach has been used to restore the ecological functions of living-soils all over the world, ensuring healthy, strong plants and super-nutritious food, whilst eliminating soil erosion and the need for chemical inputs.

Corvallis, OR

Erik Ohlsen

Erik is the Executive Director of the Permaculture Skills Center, a vocational training school that
offers advanced training in ecological design, landscaping, farming and land stewardship. Erik is also
the Owner/Principal at Permaculture Artisans, a fully licensed award-winning contract firm,
specializing in the design and installation of ecological landscapes and farms throughout California.

Erik is an internationally renowned certified permaculture designer/practitioner and certified
permaculture teacher. He is a seasoned community organizer and has been working within
permaculture and community movements since 1998.
In the field of ecological land development and management, Erik has extensive experience with
projects that range from small urban lots to 100+ broadacre design and implementation. His many
years of experience observing and listening to landscape patterns, and managing installation crews
and design teams, have led to an extensive knowledge of all aspects of ecological land development
and planning. He is a specialist in water harvesting systems, food forest design, community
organizing, facilitation, vocational education and much more.
Erik has worked throughout the world, currently residing in Sebastopol, California, managing his
homestead, running his businesses and raising his family.

 Learn More: www.ErikOhlsen.com 

Shannon McCabe

Shannie McCabe is a horticulturist at Baker creek heirloom seed company. She holds a bachelors of science in environmental horticulture with a focus in sustainable agriculture. She helps to write the Baker creek seed catalog, creates educational content in blog and video format. Shannie has been a market vegetable farmer, a cut your own flower farmer, as well as the co manager of the Baker creek farm. She currently resides in Florida where she gardens and creates educational content about Florida gardening and elements of subtropical permaculture. 

Learn more about Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company at:
www.RareSeeds.com 

Cuauhtemoc Villa

Originally from California, Cuauhtemoc Villa, in partnership with Biocarbon Associates, provides consulting to a great diversity of operations. He is a Biochar and Bokashi teacher for The Advanced Permaculture Student Online with Matt Powers. In 2019, he was the lead soil developer for Bobsled Farms and Springwater Organics located in Portland, Oregon (OLCC Tier 2). He currently provides ecological restoration and Stormwater maintenance for Sound Native Plants for the Portland area. He entered California’s medical cannabis program in 1999 after suffering an electrical accident at Stanford University.

Cuauhtemoc’s unique ability to regenerate damaged soil and waterways plus motivate teams is recognized by many cannabis industry leaders as they consult with him on many levels for soil development both domestically and internationally. Cuauhtemoc’s tribal ecological knowledge about soil and the environment provides his clients with a cost-effective approach to solve their agricultural problems.

Learn More at:

www.BiocarbonAssociates.com 

Ava Arvest

Ava Arvest is an enthusiastic mushroom farmer from Tenino, Washington. Ava runs MycoUprrhizal with her business partner Raskal Turbeville. In 2011, Ava and a few other excited mycologists started the Olympia Mycelial Network to engage and educate the public about how to use fungi for food, health benefits and garden implementation. Ava focuses on providing access to mushrooms to the community and enabling others to provide fungi for themselves. Often Ava and the MycoUprrhizing farm will host free or low cost events for education. Ava prioritizes an intention to share and expand the pool of collective knowledge, as for her it dissolves the need for capital and competition based relations while increasing access to personal, environmental, and community well-being.

Olympia, Washington

Joy Beckerman

Joy Beckerman is an internationally renowned hemp advocate, educator, and law and policy expert involved in the hemp industries for over a quarter of a century, and her extraordinary passion for this versatile, valuable crop is contagious! Joy is the Principal Consultant at Hemp Ace International; Co-Founder and Senior Advisor to Colorado Hemp Works, America's first post-prohibition hemp grain processing facility; and host of the popular podcast Hemp Barons. A tireless grassroots activist, Joy holds multiple non-profit hemp and cannabis association leadership positions. Planetary healing, permaculture and regenerative agriculture are the foundation of Joy’s mission, and they play a fundamental role in her work and purpose.

New York/Washington

Cassandra Posey

Cassandra Posey is the founder of Cognitive Function, a research and development company focused on medicinal fungi and plant biology to further our approach to an optimal, holistic life. Cassandra struggled from ADHD, Depression and Anxiety as a child and when a western approach of medications didn’t work, she set out to engineer an alternate protocol. Thus she has created Cognitive Function where she strives to help others break out of the difficult mold. Cassandra hosts and runs lead on the organization/ programing of MYCOFEST. Cassandra is constantly striving to innovate, elevate and evolve with our ecosystem at the forefront. Natural remedies and a holistic, sustainable approach are her life’s dedication.

Seattle, WA

Learn More: https://cognitivefunction.net 

Alan Booker

Alan is the founder and executive director of the Institute of Integrated Regenerative Design, which trains professional design practitioners to create systems that are ecosystemic, biocompatible, and regenerative. He has over 30 years’ experience in engineering and 20 years in sustainable and regenerative design.

Michael Wittman

Michael Wittman, Char-man of the Board of Blue Sky Biochar, has long been an environmental activist for an ever-growing number of national grass roots movements. He brings to bear a lifetime of experience in alternative energy and soil science. In 1970 he was a volunteer organizer of the very first Earth Day in New York City. His highest priority has long been the defense and conservation of all natural resources and life on earth.

His affinity for this planet's continued good health has never waivered as he has continued to advocate prudence and moderation in the environment. He is also a Marine Naturalist spending half his life diving and kayaking around the world and he is a life-long animal rights activist. An accomplished, knowledgeable and engaging public speaker, Michael has approached American fuel reform from a refreshingly calm and reasoned perspective while broadening the public consciousness of reasonably affordable and underutilized natural resources.

Having now brought his personal and professional passion full circle, in 2010 Michael founded Blue Sky Biochar to promote both the notion of sustainable and regenerative soil health and the means by which to make it happen. Blue Sky continues to advocate the individual reclamation of our biological birthright on earth.

Thousand Oaks, CA

Learn more: www.blueskybiochar.com 

Frank Golbeck

Frank Golbeck is a mead maker, entrepreneur, community builder, veteran, father and husband. He has a long track record of starting and leading successful organizations from founding the Newport Harbor High School Lacrosse Program in 2002 to founding Golden Coast Mead, Southern California’s first Meadery in 2010, to founding the Mead Institute and The Regenerative Honey Working Group in 2020. Frank loves working with passionate, creative, altruistic people who seek to create and share joyful, beautiful things with the world. Frank graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Development Studies in 2007. He served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy from 2007-2011 including a stint as Acting Chief Engineer onboard USS Pearl Harbor and as an Action Officer in the Surface Warfare Enterprise for a Vice Admiral. For the past ten years his focus has been on the mead industry, growing a regenerative ecovillage and helping raise his family. His favorite things to do include surfing, exploring nature with his family, meditating and going to Burning Man.

Oceanside, CA

Ray Milidoni

Multipotentialite. Entrepreneur. Mentor.. Problem-solver. Regenerative & Soil Health Advocate.

With a strong background in marketing, podcasting, mentorship, management, farming and a plethora of other endeavours, Ray Milidoni can be described as a wealth of regenerative expertise collated within just one mind.

Not just one for business, Ray has unearthed a passion deep within for the natural environment, specifically regenerative farming and soil health. His belief that everything good in life quite literally starts with soil has helped him to nurture quite a name for himself within the farming industry. Having grown up in a traditional Italian family, he knows all too well the values of the retrosuburban movement (even if it did take him a number of years to move past the fact that it meant he had waaaay more chores than his friends, as a kid, Sauce making day, wine making day & salami day). You can catch him in action, cultivating his newfound business partnership with Farming Secrets via their website and social platforms.

Morag Gamble

Learn More:

Https://moraggamble.com

Https://permacultureeducationinstitute.org

Https://ethosfoundation.org.au

Https://permayouth.org

Https://ourpermaculturelife.com

Finian Makepeace

Co-Founder, Policy Director, and Lead Educator of Kiss the Ground and a renowned presenter, media creator, and thought leader in the field of regenerative agriculture and soil health. He has developed training programs, workshops, and talks designed to empower people to become confident messengers and advocates for this growing movement. He has worked with leading experts, policymakers, farmers, and businesses to make rebuilding soil, through the adoption of regenerative agriculture, a key solution to our world’s biggest crises. His greatest hope is that, through awakening to the opportunities of regeneration, people know they can help change the world. He believes that with enough new advocates promoting the ancient wisdom, pioneering holistic thinking, and new science of regenerative agriculture and ecosystem restoration we can heal our planet - together.

Matt Powers

Matt Powers is an author, educator, and entrepreneur focused on radically transforming K-12 and college education to guide students everywhere to the regenerative economy and a life of meaning and integrity.

Guerneville, CA