Directors

Greg Bonito, Ph.D. – President

Gregory Bonito is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. He received a Ph.D. in Biology from Duke University, an M.S. in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development from the University of Georgia, Athens, and a B.Sc. in Ecology from Appalachian State University in Boone NC. His primary research interests are systematics and taxonomy of truffle fungi, biology of Pezizales, fungal biodiversity, and inter-kingdom interactions between fungi plants and bacteria. For more details on his research click here. 

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Tim James, Ph.D. – Treasurer

Tim is an Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan and Assistant Curator of Fungi at the University of Michigan Herbarium. He received a Ph.D. in Biology from Duke University and a B.Sc. in Botany from the University of Georgia. His primary research interests are mushroom genetics, the systematics and taxonomy of fungi, and a group of aquatic fungi known as chytrids. For more details on his research click here.

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Phil Tedeschi- Secretary

Phil Tedeischi took his first mushroom class in 1971 from Dr. Robert Shaffer through the Ann Arbor Public Schools Systems adult education program.  The course consisted of 4 3-hour classroom sessions and 4 3-hour forays. Mushroom hunting has been a hobby ever since.  He Joined the Michigan Mushroom Hunters Club in 1997 and became a hunt leader in 1998. He served as a club vice-president for 4 years and as president for 6.  He is still a hunt leader and identifier for the club and is a life member.  Amateur mycology has always been an vocation, his vocation was to serve as a programmer analyst at the University of Michigan for 30 years supporting research programs in medical economy and in medical research.

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Erik Lilleskov- Director

Erik Lilleskov is a research scientist with the US Forest Service, Northern Research Station, in the Climate, Fire, and Carbon Cycle Sciences unit, located in Houghton Michigan. He received a Ph.D in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University; an M.S. in Botany, Field Naturalist Program, from University of Vermont; and a B.A. in Biological Anthropology from Harvard University.  His primary research interests are in the community and functional ecology of soil biota, especially fungi, in the context of global change phenomena; as well as understanding the drivers of carbon cycling in peatland ecosystems. For more details on his research click here or here

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MAMI and the mycological community continue to miss the presence of MAMI Founder, Dr. Chris Wright. Read more about his inspiring journey here: Dr. Chris Wright