Director, Education & Partnerships (they/them)

Alessandro is a connector between fungal sciences, outdoor education and social impact, traversing the dichotomies of formal learning, play and research. Based at RBG Kew, their work fluxes between Funga forays with school and home-ed collectives, community engagement with marginalised groups and evolutionary fungal genomics with bioinformaticians. Their exploration has led them to Nepal, Laos and Madagascar, aiding government programmes, NPOs and scientists in conserving human and fungal cultural formation. They are ardent about accessibility and accountability in opportunities and pathways into fungal ecology, and strive to centre equitable values and build intersectional partnerships for fairer systems of discovery.