Jon grew up foraging wild mushrooms with his father in the Green Mountains of Vermont. From this early interest in mushrooms Jon went on to pursue a MS degree studying Mycology and most recently worked as the Research and Production Mycologist for Field and Forest Products in Peshtigo, WI. As the Lead Mycologist at North Spore, Jon is in charge of maintaining our mushroom cultures and researching new strains of wild mushrooms for their potential cultivation.

Eliah is a true Mainer through and through and an entrepreneur at heart. Eliah is an expert in greenhouse and organic farm management and ran a small organic farm in Downeast Maine before founding North Spore. These days he oversees operations and business development. He's an avid sailor and musician and always enjoys a good business pitch competition.

A veteran of the restaurant world, Matt developed his passion for food while serving and cooking on Mount Desert Island where he frequently supplied restaurants with wild-foraged mushrooms. He later became a representative for Crush Distributors, a small boutique wine distribution company based in Portland, Maine and worked as a freelance photojournalist for the New York Times. His passion for good food, good wine, and good company coupled with a strong environmental ethic and a love for foraging and gardening, has underscored his commitment to the North Spore mission.

Kate manages the North Spore culture bank and spawn laboratory. She studied biology at the University of Maine in Orono where her interest in mushrooms was sparked by a mycology course. Her studies culminated with a capstone research project on parasitic fungi. In her spare time you can usually find her outside romping around in the woods or climbing rocks.

Brit lives in a long low house with a shiny red door in the township of Limington. She shares her home with her husband, Brandon, as well as three four legged beasts: two felines and a canine. Time in Limington is spent fixing up the property, cooking, baking and drinking beer, usually in that order. When time affords you can find her taking a walk in the woods or with pencil or needle in hand. On weekdays she travels to the city of Westbrook where she peddles mushrooms to local establishments in the company of fellow good humans.

Rachael works in the spawn laboratory and assists with spawn production for North Spore. She most recently worked as a research assistant studying fungal pathogens of lowbush blueberry at the University of Maine in Orono. She previously obtained an MS at Clark University studying fungal endophytes. She enjoys reading, hiking, and all things fungal.

Noah grew up in Miami, FL, moved to Maine for school and has lived here ever since, enjoying hiking, surfing, and all four actual seasons. He's worked at a Portland-based food bank and done live sound engineering at SPACE Gallery. Since he started, North Spore has cultivated his love of mushrooms and propelled his curiosity even further. At North Spore he manages commercial spawn accounts and inventory management.

Amanda started at North Spore mid-2019 after deciding desk work wasn't for her. She now packs online and fresh orders during the week, and spends her weekends painting, baking and hiking.

DJ is a mechanical engineer by degree, handles the production improvements, equipment maintenance, and other mechanical/electrical tasks for North Spore. Winter is DJ's favorite season. The only thing that's not great about it, is that there are no mushrooms! That's why he had to find a place like North Spore, so he could help grow them inside. When he's not at work, he can be found foraging, snowboarding, hiking, snowmobiling, tearing down and building up some machine in his garage, or traveling the world (17 countries and counting)! He and his family live on 63 acres in western Maine in their owner built tiny house.

Nate grew up in Portland but after high school moved to Athens, Georgia, then to Charleston, South Carolina where he took video production classes for a year. He then moved to San Diego where he met some of his greatest friends and studied graphic design. In 2015, he moved back to Maine and got his Bachelor's in digital media from Maine College of Art. At North Spore his focus is on digital marketing and content creation and enjoys being able to connect his loves of photography, video, and design with his love of nature. He is a proud transgender man.

Mike Kersula has been serving the mycological cause since his interest was tickled by the abundant black trumpets and honey mushrooms of Acadia. Shortly thereafter he was arrested for foraging mushrooms in a national park (see Bar Harbor police beat for September 2006). His uphill battle since his run-in with the law has included the farming of veggies and poultry, kelp and mussels, commercial fishing in Maine and Alaska, two masters of science degrees, leading the halibut and the scallop research programs for the state of Maine, and renovating land and home with his wife and dog in Durham, Maine. Mike is chief helper for making North Spore operations run smoothly on the day to day, as well as writing grants and developing North Spore's R & D program.

Louis has spent over 8 years growing and hunting mushrooms from coast to coast. He is the "Mushroom Man" at the Portland Farmer's Markets, leads foraging classes, and does mushroom landscaping. He loves nothing more than getting into the woods to mountain bike and look for highly prized wild foods.

Mary Berecka is a queer mycology/ecology nerd. After many years of forest moseys and arboreal adoration, she discovered fungi through Suzanne Simard’s research on “Mother Trees”. That initial spore continues to provide inspiration to her, evidence of the ways fungi reveal interconnected nature. Mary is particularly interested in community resilience, local food systems, and soil health. In 2019, she was a guest lecturer for the John Cage Mycology Weekend. At North Spore, Mary has helped with production, creates content, and strategizes how to connect people to fungi.

Growing up in seacoast NH, Sierra’s love for the outdoors has led them across many trails in ME and NH, to hike 1,000 miles of the PCT, and now here to the world of mushrooms where they pack products at North Spore. They studied ceramics at UNH and are generally interested in all things clay, music, forests and ecology. They also work as a live sound engineer at Space Gallery, write and perform their own music, and haven’t met a hot sauce they don’t want to try.

Rodimiro Chirinos is originally from Honduras and was a university student of the International Trade School at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras. He loves cooking but hasn't yet learned how to cook mushrooms, though he hopes one day to learn! He loves to dance, listen to music and do research on the politics and human rights of different countries. At North Spore, Rodi gives the final quality control check and oversees product packaging.

Grace grew up on the coast of Maine with a naturalist mother and marine biologist father. They instilled early interests in science and nature that have never left her. Following her sister’s lead, she used her biology scholarship to Hampshire College to instead pursue her other great love: art. After earning a degree in Printmaking from University of Southern Maine she spent nearly a decade as a screen printer. Ready for a change, she found a new home at North Spore where she packs and ships spawn orders. In her spare time she still enjoys making art, learning about nature and spending time with her partner and their one-eyed cat, Matilda.