Past speakers
Recent speakers at our monthly SOMA meetings.
2023
- Harte Singer DNA Sequencing Lead for FunDiS
Mar 16, 2023 What is barcoding and Nanopore Sequencing? Community Science on iNat. FB Live Stream - Scholarship Winners present their research updates
Feb 16, 2023 Short presentations from several scholarship recipients Facebook Live Stream
2022
- Alan Rockefeller recently interviewed in Edible East Bay
Dec 17, 2022 Luminescent Fungi Facebook Live Stream - Taye Bright, Jack Johnson, and Bob Rawson "hybrid" meeting at the Laguna de Santa Rosa Heron Hall
Nov 17, 2022 Mycoremediation options for the Laguna watershed and surrounding areas. Facebook Live Stream - Camille DeGabrielle author of the Just Mushrooms cookbook
Oct 20, 2022 Cooking demonstration Facebook Live Stream - Damon Tighe from Bio-Rad Life Sciences
Sept 15, 2022 Algae Blooms, Genetic Sequencing, and iNaturalist Facebook Live Stream - Christian Schwarz author of Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast
May 31, 2022 Mushroom Bioregions of the United States Facebook Live Stream - Harte Singer from The Perry Lab
April 21, 2022 DNA Sequencing of the SOMA Camp mushroom finds Facebook Live Stream - John Grant, and Wyatt Bryson from Jewels of the Forest
Mar 17, 2022 Mushroom Cultivation Explained Facebook Live Stream - Grace Stark, Michael Bradshaw, Glade Dlott, and others
Feb 17, 2022 Past and Present SOMA scholarship recipients Facebook Live Stream
2021
- Kem Luther & Andy MacKinnon authors of Mushrooms of British Columbia
Nov 18, 2021 What it takes to publish a mushroom book Facebook Live Stream - Michael Bueg author of Mushrooms of Cascadia
Oct 19, 2021 Should I have eaten that mushroom? Facebook Live Stream - Alissa Allen founder of Mycopigments
Sept 16, 2021 Exploring Mycology through Dye Experimentation Facebook Live Stream - Gavin McIntyre Co-founder of Ecovative Design
May 20, 2021 Mycelium Biofabrication Facebook Live Stream - Daisy Hernandez from UC Davis, David M. Rizzo lab
Apr 15, 2021 Ganoderma diversity in California on Youtube - Kristine Vejar and Adrienne Rodriguez Co-founders of A Verb for Keeping Warm
Mar 18, 2021 Color-fast Dyes from Mushrooms Facebook Life Stream - Robert Blundell from UC Davis Eskalen Lab
Feb 18, 2021 Fungus controlling fungus - Grapevine trunk disease Facebook Live Stream - Langdon Cook author of The Mushroom Hunters
Feb 4, 2021 Wild Edibles: Patch to Plate and stories from his books Facebook Live Stream - Roo Vandegrift on his documentary movie Marrow of the Mountain
Jan 21, 2021 Live from Ecuador Facebook Live Stream - Trent and Kristen Blizzard Co-founders of Modern Forager
Jan 7, 2021 Mushroom Preservation Techniques Facebook Live Stream
2020
- William Padilla-Brown from MycoSymbiotics
Dec 17, 2020 Cordyceps Cultivation Facebook Live Stream - Zachary Mazi also known as The Food Bender
Nov 19, 2020 Mushrooms of the Lanna Kingdom Facebook Live Stream - Mikhael Selk Myco-Parasites
- David Hibbett How Mushrooms Changed the World
- Kristen Wickert
April 16, 2020 Plant Pathology and Fungi Facebook Live Stream - Chad Hyatt author of The Mushroom Hunters Kitchen
2019
- Thea Chesney Mushrooming in the Sierra Nevada (and Beyond).
- Lukas Martinelli Fungal Partnerships: The Microbial Roots of Life.
- J.R. Blair Mycorrizae.
- Dr. Roo Vandegrift Biodiversity.
- Brian Claus Anicola.
- A panel of SOMA mushroom maestros How to best look for mushrooms.
2018
- Taylor Lockwood Biolumiscence.
- Fran Angerer An overview discussion on Truffles - History, Farming, Science and Harvesting.
- Kingman Bond-Graham Hunting By Habitat. Recognizing Opportunities For Mushroom Foraging In California.
- Juniper Harrower Symbiosis under climate change: Investigating Joshua trees and their mycorrhizal fungi.
- Rick Kerrigan Introducing Agaricus.
- Richard Tehan Evolution of secondary metabolism in Tolypocladium and hypocrealean fungi.
- Patrick Hamilton Tales of mushrooming from Costa Rica to Alaska plus a few fine dishes to taste.
2017
- David Campbell Truffles and Mushrooms of Northern Italy plus .
- Paige Mandelare A Tale of Two Fungi: Coculturing of Mediterranean Marine Endophytes.
- Anna Bazzicalupo Benjamin Woo's Russula Herbarium and his contribution to science.
- Dan Thomas The ancient and new landscape: how scientists are re-learning to see a world connected by fungi.
- Kathleen Harrison Psilocybin Mushrooms in Mazatec Mexico: Glimpse an Indigenous Worldview.
- Alan Rockefeller
- Heather Slinn
2016
- Brian A. Perry Fungal diversity in Hawaii
- Noah Siegel Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast
- Christian Schwarz MycoMysteries: A guide to what we don't know
- Jackie Shay A Hunt for Marasmius
- Catherine Adams Amanita phalloides
- Natalie Hambalek
- Darvin Deshazer and George Riner Wild Mushroom Identification
2015
- Dorothy Beebee The History and Legacy of Mushroom Dyes
- Justin Reyes A look at Gourmet Mushrooms Inc/Mycopia Mushrooms
- Joshua Harrison The Fungi Within: the Ecological Importance of Symbiotic Fungi
- Chris Grace
- Sydney Glassman Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Spore Bank Recovery After a Severe Forest Fire: Some Like it Hot
- Michael Beug Love of Western Ascomycetes
- Alan Rockefeller Mushrooms of Mexico
- Darvin DeShazer Polypores -- The Forgotten Family
2014
- Dr. Denis Desjardin
- Patrick Hamilton How to be a really good mushroom hunter
- Sephanie Jarvis Trufflere, Truffle Cultivation in Modern Times
- Noah Siegel Let It Bleed: The Lactarius of California
- Arthur Charles Grupe II Sarcodon in the Neotropics: Four new species and the immerging circum-Caribbean distribution.
- Ben Waitman Nitrogen pollution in Forests: How do ectomycorrhizal fungi factor in?
- Denis R. Benjamin Mushroom ‘Poisoning’ Not Due To Toxins
- Sydney Glassman
2013
- Roo Vandegrift Diversity and dispersal of tropical forest Xylariaceae
- Meredith Sabini The Art of Collecting: Tales and Tips from 30 Years on the Mountain
- Christian Schwarz, Amateurs at the Helm -- The unique role of citizen scientists in assembling the North American Mycoflora Project
- Patrick Hamilton, The Mycochef, Morels and More
- Alija Bajro Mujic Have Rake, Will Travel: Following the Ancestral Migration of Douglas Fir and it False-Truffle Associates
- Noah Siegel Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast
- Walt Sturgeon Just For the Smell of It: Mushroom Common Scents: a non-technical look at wild mushrooms from an olfactory perspective.
- Todd Osmundson Of species, spores, and the spiral ladder: How DNA has shaped our understanding of fungal diversity, distribution, phylogeny and ecology.
- Alija Bajro Muji (SOMA Scholarship winner) Have Rake, Will Travel: Following the Ancestral Migration of Douglas Fir and it False-Truffle Associates.
2012
- Rytas Vilgalys
- Terry Henkel
- Todd Osmundson
- Alan Rockefeller Mushrooms of Mexico
2011
- Jenny Talbot Dishing the dirt on decomposition: how soil fungi shape the ecosystem carbon cycle
- Daniel Winkler Mushroaming
- David Pilz Wild Mushroom Management in Spain: What might be applicable here?
- Dr. Matt Trappe Shaking the Fungal Tree of Life
- Leon Shernoff Boletes Come of Age
- Nhu Nguyen Mycological symbioses: tales of fungi that live with insects, bacteria, and plants
- Bob Cummings Red Amanitas, Black Trumpets, & White Porcini Mushroom Hunting in Santa Barbara
- Langdon Cook From Woods to Plate: Wild Mushroom Cookery
- Connie Green and Patrick Hamilton: A Show and Tell
- Else Vellinga: The naming of mushrooms -- insights into the work of a mushroom taxonomist
2010
- David Arora: The Wheel of Fungi: Chapter 8
- Valerie Wong: Breaking Down Symbiosis: Searching for mechanisms of mycoheterotroph parasitism
- Darvin DeShazer: California Edibles
- Peter Werner: Psilocybe and allies of California, as well as other psilocybin mushrooms of the state
- Mia Maltz: Mycorenewal and Biodiversity: Investigating the effect of fungal amendments for increasing plant establishment in contaminated soil
- Jennifer Kerekes: A look at the diversity and ecology of saprotrophic fungal communities
2009
- William Rubel, with David Arora: The History of Amanita muscaria as an Edible Mushroom And a Look at Cultural Bias in Field Guides
- DVD by Taylor Lockwood, The Good, the Bad, and the Deadly: a special showing of the latest DVD by Taylor Lockwood.
- David Campbell, Rocky Monsoon Mushrooms: A peek at summer fungi of southwestern Colorado
- Nicole Hynson, When fungi host plants: unraveling the role of mycorrhizal specificity in myco-heterotrophic plants
- Elio Schaecter, Mushrooms Through the Ages
- Maggie Rodgers, Hooked on Mushroomers?
- Kathryn Harper, Toxic and Hallucinogenic Mushroom Identification via a DNA-based Macroarray
- Gary Lincoff, Appearance and Reality: Knowing what’s what and why in the fungi
2008
- Glenn Shepard, Jr, Attitudes toward and Uses of Mushrooms in Traditional Cultures: An overview
- Dimitar Bochantev, Sierra Nevada—Fungal Diversity along the roads less travelled
- David Rust, A mushroomer's Guide to Sudden Oak Death
- Chris Kjeldson, Why Fungi: From Elvis the King to Environmental Engineers
- David Campbell, Fungimental Mycophagy: a forest-to-table discussion about the basics and beyond of eating wild mushrooms
- Mia Maltz, Amazon Mycorenewal Project
- Dorothy Beebee, Fiber and Fungi—the First Forty Years
- Dr. Tom Volk, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
2007
- Dr. Sveta Yamin-Pasternak, PhD, Polar Regions Research, National Science Foundation: "From Tomorrow to Yesterday with a Myco-Scope Lens: Mushroom Tales from Russia and Alaska"
- Taylor Lockwood, New Book: Chasing the Rain: My Treasure Hunt for the World's Most Beautiful Mushrooms
- Dr. Roberto Garibay Orijel, Ph.D., UC Berkeley: "Men and Fungi, a travel through time and civilizations."
- Dr. Terry Henkel, Ph.D., Humboldt State Univeristy: "Going Fungal in the Jungle."
- Darvin DeShazer, Sonoma County Mycological Association.
- Tara Fulgenzi, Humboldt State University:"Boletaceae of Guyana."
- S. Coleman McCleneghan, Ph.D., "Fungal Stories from the Great Smoky Mountain ATBI: Documenting Friends and Foes."
- Gary Lincoff, New York Botanical Garden.
2006
- Dr. Ralph Metzner, Ph.D. Ayahuasca and the psilocybe mushrooms and how they relate to psychotherapy, shamanic journey practices and alchemical divination.
- Bob Engel of Gourmet Mushroom.
- Charmoon Richardson, Wild About Mushrooms Co. "Wild Culinary Mushrooms of Northern California."
- Judy Roger, North American Mycological Association. "The Oregon Chanterelle Study—20 years and Counting…"
- Dr. Beug, Ph.D., North American Mycological Association. "Reflections on Mushroom Poisonings."
- Denise Gregory, San Francisco State University. "Endophytic Fungi."
- Debbie Viess (AKA Amanitarita). "Amanitas of California."
- Leon Shernoff, Illinois Mycological Association and editor of Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming. "How do you know when a mushroom is strange?"
2005
- Dr. Rytas Vilgalys, Ph.D., Duke University. "The secret lives of mushrooms."
- Dr. Matteo Garbelotto, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley. "The Tanoak Mycorrhiza Community: Predicting the Effects of P. ramorum."
- Dr. Largent, Ph.D., Humboldt State University, emeritus. "The Fantastic Features of Fungi."
- Andy Wilson, Clark University. "Gymnopus."
- Dr. Dennis Desjardin, Ph.D., San Francisco State University, Mycological Society of San Francisco. "Why I Am A Mycologist."
- Dr. Fred Stevens, Ph.D. "Agaricus of California."
- Carla Mueller. "Enchanted Swedish Mushrooms."
- Dr. Tom Volk, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. "Where Have All The Hydnums Gone?"
2004
- Dr. Bruce Ing, Ph.D., University College, Chester. "The Natural History of Myxomycetes."
- Dr. Gastón Guzmán, Ph.D., Instituto de Ecología at Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. "Traditions Of Mexican Mushrooms: Edible, Medicinal And Sacred."
- Scott Bates, University of Arizona. "Southwestern puffballs and earthstars: monography, phylogeny and spore ultrastructure in the Lycoperdaceae and Geastraceae."
- Dr. Tom Bruns, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley. "Observations on the Natural History of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi."
- Megan Romberg, University of California, Davis. "Experiments in dyeing with Fusarium."
- Dr. Donald Kowalski, Ph.D., California State University Chico, emeritus. "California Slime Molds."
- Dr. Elio Schaechter, Ph.D., San Diego Mycological Society.
- Gary Lincoff, New York Botanical Garden.
2003
- Dr. Jim Trappe, Ph.D.. "Truffles In Australia…And Why Do We Care?"
- Lawrence Glacy,"Panda Nature Reserves in China and their Fungal Ecology."
- Matthew Keile, University of Chicago. "Coprinoid Fungi of Hawaii."
- Dr. Lisa Grubisha, Ph.D.. "Channel Islands: Biogeography of Rhizopogon."
- Janice Alexander, University of California Cooperative Extension and California Oak Mortality Task Force. "Oak Death: Phytophthora ramorum in California."
- Dr. Steve Trudell, Ph.D., University of Washington. "Mycorrhizal Fungi: Foundation of Our Forests."
- Dr. Michael Kuo, Ph.D., Eastern Illinois University. "Everything we Know About Morels."
- Dr. Rod Tulloss, Ph.D..
