Steve is a forest ecologist and itinerant educator who has been hunting, photographing, and learning about mushrooms for over 35 years. He is a life member of NAMA, Chair of NAMA's Literature Committee, member of the Education, Photography, and Website committees, and previously served as Vice President. Author of, and photographer for, Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest (with Joe Ammirati), Tricholomas of North America: A Mushroom Field Guide (with Alan Bessette, Arleen Bessette, and Bill Roody), and Mushrooms of Alaska's National Forests (with Kate Mohatt and Karen Dittman), he has taught mycology, botany, and biology courses at the University of Washington, The Evergreen State College, and Bastyr University, as well as workshops at many festivals, NAMA forays, and local mushroom club forays. His particular interest is in understanding why there is such a tremendous diversity of mushroom-fungi and the roles that they play in forest carbon and nutrient cycling. *