Thea Chesney

Thea Chesney (she/her) is an expert naturalist and a lifelong Sierra Nevada foothill resident. Her childhood interest in local mushrooms, wildlife, and flora has developed into an unending devotion to studying and understanding the natural world. She earned her BS in forestry from UC Berkeley while pursuing her passion for fungal taxonomy in the Berkeley mycology labs, and since then has spent her time exploring the California mountains and the organisms that call them home. She has worked as a botanist, a forester, and field mycologist. Her fieldwork and her own studies are centered in the mountains of California.

“Thea was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about mushrooms. When we brought back our finds, she was not only able to ID all of them, but she had a lot of useful background about the various species and features to look for.” -Participant feedback

“She knew so much about every mushroom! And she was so patient in identifying and answering all of our questions, and she had so much excitement and joy for every single mushroom she described. It was incredible to hear her stories and learn from her; it was such an amazing experience to get so much direct time with someone so brilliant.” -Participant feedback