ABOUT

MycoSymbiotics began as the pioneering work of William Padilla-Brown, a leader in citizen science and author of the first English-language handbook on Cordyceps cultivation.We understood that no single mycelial thread forms a fruiting body alone and to truly shift the food system, we needed to create a model that mirrors nature. So we evolved into a cooperative. MycoSymbiotics Cooperative is a national network of mushroom growers, foragers, and processors offering a diverse range of wild and cultivated mushrooms, tinctures, elixirs, and other mycological creations. We are member owned and member governed. Members democratically engage in decision making to ensure we maintain integrity and offerings that are informed by the needs of our community. Rooted in ecological harmony, our community seeks to engage in regenerative businesses that reflect the symbiotic relationships found in the mycelial network. We invite producers, processors, foragers, and consumers to join our network.

Meet the Steering Committee

MycoSymbiotics Cooperative
William Padilla-Brown
Founder and CEO of MycoSymbiotics, William Padilla-Brown is a multidisciplinary citizen scientist working across social science, mycology, phycology, molecular biology, and additive manufacturing. He founded MycoSymbiotics in 2015 and grew it into an applied biological science business. William holds permaculture design certificates, training in algal culturing, authored the first English cordyceps cultivation book, leads courses, conducts research, has been featured in multiple publications including Fantastic Fungi and VICE, and founded MycoFest, a decade old mushroom and arts festival.
MycoSymbiotics Cooperative
Ebony Gustave
Ebony Gustave is a web weaver, community architect, and storyteller. She is the host of Cooperative Journal podcast, an archive of interviews with people around the world that are collectivizing to meet their needs. Her work is rooted in spreading the power of solidarity economics through facilitation, artist organizing with Art.coop, and curating experiences so people can feel and practice solidarity.

Why Does the Co-op Matter?

The mushroom community has been essential to my evolution - mushrooms remind me of the symbiosis we can embody as humans. How do we create societal systems that are a reflection of the cooperation we see in nature? MycoSymbiotics Cooperative is a model that invites us into the spirit of connection and regeneration - it has the power to create a national human mycelial network that challenges capitalism and individualism.
MycoSymbiotics Cooperative
Justin Knaub
Justin Knaub is Lifetime forager turned extraction artist after experiencing the power of Mushroom medicines. Since 2017, Justin has focused on receiving his medicines from his foods.

Why Does the Co-op Matter?

Being part of the Mycosymbiotics co-op gives me a boost of confidence that it's not too late (for healthy options for those who seek). The passion of the farmers and producers is contagious. Passion that you can feel, taste, and see. Passion that spreads to the consumer. Being part of the cooperative allows my business to comfortably select quality local mushrooms to turn into the best concentrate and finished products possible with minimal carbon footprint.
MycoSymbiotics Cooperative
Luther
Luther is an interdisciplinary researcher, artist, and designer exploring sensory ecology through the creation of responsive, immersive environments that foster more symbiotic ways of seeing and being.

Why Does the Co-op Matter?

Luther joined the Mycosmbiotics co-op to cultivate a collaborative platform for mycologists and ecologists to share their research, products, and educational work, creating value for both producers and consumers alike. I support the co-op by offering my experience in experience design for community events and festivals.
MycoSymbiotics Cooperative
Dustin Powers
Dustin Powers is a builder of biological, social, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Within the MycoSymbiotics Cooperative, he works at the crossroads of regenerative agriculture, functional mushrooms, and community-driven innovation. With experience in formulation, permaculture design, and decentralized business development, Dustin creates systems that empower small growers, restore land, and strengthen local economies—bringing people together through sustainable cultivation, shared knowledge, and equitable access to the tools that help communities thrive.

Why Does the Co-op Matter?

A cooperative matters to me because it brings the work back to the people doing it. I believe in shared ownership, shared knowledge, and shared prosperity. A co-op protects growers, makers, and small operators from being squeezed out by larger forces, and turns our collective experience into real power. It creates a structure where we lift each other, build resilient local economies, and keep the integrity of the work intact.
MycoSymbiotics Cooperative
Josh Inklovich
Josh Inklovich is a cooperative strategist and regenerative systems designer with over twenty-five years in workforce development and community engagement. He advances regenerative food systems through grant writing, education, and business development—bridging ecology and equity to cultivate collective growth and resilience.

Why Does the Co-op Matter?

The MycoSymbiotics Cooperative matters to me because fungi are transforming our world—from soil to medicine, materials, and food. They embody a nature-centered future where humans live in harmony with the ecosystems we depend on. Through the cooperative, we’re modeling that vision—an economy rooted in collaboration, mutual aid, and regenerative growth for people and planet.
MycoSymbiotics Cooperative
Noah Cawthon
Change Noah’s bio to Noah Cawthon is an avid naturalist, member of the Mycosymbiotics team, and conservationist. Beginning as a hiker & forager, years of field and lab experience has led to being head of culture curation at Mycosymbiotics, as well as rediscovering thought to be extirpated populations of endangered species in Pennsylvania.

Why Does the Co-op Matter?

The Mycosymbiotics co-op matters a lot to me, both in what it is, and what it represents. It is a collection of growers, educators, and processors, cultivating health, wisdom, and a thriving communal future. The fresh, seasonal flavors of our local ecosystems are a big part of connecting to where we are, and our traditions like annual foraging seasons. It represents small businesses sticking together. ​Cooperatives are vital for the survival of small businesses in a landscape dominated by massive, centralized corporations. A rising tide lifts all boats, and co-ops like this, can be the harbor we all rise in.
MycoSymbiotics Cooperative
Rob Lopez
Rob Lopez is a conscious rap artist, mycology enthusiast, forager, and advocate for human and animal liberation. Over the years his music has evolved to reflect his awareness and dedication to addressing social issues. When he isn't writing music, you can find Rob hiking, foraging, and cultivating. Rob cares deeply about helping others and connecting people in the community and he channels his love for the world into the culinary mushrooms that he cultivates. Rob operates Decolonize Hongos, a mycology lab for gourmet and medicinal mushrooms.