Giuliana Furci

Founder, the Fungi Foundation

Giuliana Furci is Chile’s first female mycologist, who founded the Fungi Foundation, the first NGO in the world working solely for the protection and promotion of fungi, with offices in Chile and the USA. Her work triggered the inclusion of fungi in Chilean environmental legislation and made it possible to assess the conservation status of over 80 species of fungi. Furci has described several species of fungi and conducted mycological expeditions in close to 20 countries. She also spearheaded and co-authored the paper expanding the term “Fungi” and launched the FFF Initiative (Fauna, Flora, Fungi) to advocate for the use of mycologically-inclusive language worldwide. She contributed to the book “The Future is Fungi” and “Fantastic Fungi” by Louis Schwartzberg and Paul Stamets.