Robin Gunkel is the Creator and Director of Mushroom City Art Festival, first conceived in 2012 and held in fall 2013. Through her work with Mushroom City, Robin was inspired to pursue a PhD in Sustainability Education with Prescott College that she completed in 2022.  Robin currently works as an academic advisor at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University where she is also currently teaching EcoPoetics this fall. Robin has been a community organizer in Baltimore since 2009 and has been a coordinator for Bloom, a social and mobilization network for regenerative planetary culture.  Robin is most passionate about how social networks can work beside forest networks to support both social and ecological justice. 

Holly Wheat is a Maryland native currently living in Pennsylvania,
where she channels her deep passion for fungi as a dedicated mycophile
with a focus on edible and medicinal mushrooms. An avid Appalachian
Trail section-hiker, Holly blends her love for nature with education,
leading accessible and engaging mushroom identification and foraging
walks designed for beginners.

Since 2015, she has been an integral part of the Mushroom City Art
Festival, serving as an organizer, coordinator, and foray leader. Her
work bridges science, art, and community, helping others connect with
the natural world through the fascinating lens of mycology.