Our speaker, Christin Swearingen, is a mycologist volunteering for the Fungal Diversity Survey. She has degrees from Oberlin College (B.A.) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (M.S.), and mentorship from Dr. Gary Laursen (author of Alaska's Mushrooms). She is currently living in Fairbanks, working for the Interior Alaska Land Trust to protect natural habitat for all wildlife, including mushrooms. The West Coast Rare 10 Fungi project was launched in fall 2020 to find and document ten species of rare, threatened, or declining fungi. Scientists and conservationists need more data on these fungi in order to better understand and protect them and their habitats.