Giuliana Furci

Giuliana Furci is the foundress and executive director of the Fungi Foundation. She is also an associate at Harvard University, a National Geographic Explorer, a Dame of the Order of the Star of Italy, the deputy chair of the IUCN Fungal Conservation Committee, a Fellow of the International Mycological Association, and the author of several titles, including a series of field guides to Chilean fungi. She has co-authored titles such as the “State of the World's Fungi” (Kew, 2018), the publication that delimits the term “funga,” and the “Fauna, Flora & Funga” (3F) initiative proposal. Giuliana has received several distinctions, including the 2022 Buffett/National Geographic Leadership in Conservation in Latin America Award, the 2022 Gordon and Tina Wasson Award from the Mycological Society of America, and the 2013 Presidents Award from the International Society for Fungal Conservation. Giuliana has held consulting positions in U.S. philanthropic foundations as well as full-time positions in international and Chilean conservation non-profits. She sits on the Board of Fundación Acción Fauna and Los Cedros Fund and is part of the Advisory Board of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN).