Our Team
Ari Rockland-Miller
Ari is a writer, instructor and lecturer on wild and cultivated mushrooms and edible plants. He is co-founder of The Mushroom Forager, LLC and an ardent mycophile who enjoys nothing more than the exhilarating feeling of the mushroom hunt.
Ari has been sharing his passion for mushroom hunting and edible plants through teaching and the written word for over a decade. He has facilitated over 200 presentations, workshops and forays to over 4,500 mycophiles from around the world. His writing has been featured in a number of publications including the Vermont Almanac, Northern Woodlands and Green Mountain Club's Long Trail News. The Mushroom Forager's work has also been featured on CNN's Great Big Story, New England Public Radio, Vermont Public Radio, Seven Days and Vermont Life magazine.
Ari became an expert in cultivating shiitake mushrooms in agroforestry systems when he managed Cornell University’s Mushroom Research Project and Cornell University's agroforestry teaching site and farm, the MacDaniels Nut Grove. Ari also currently works for the State of Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, where he works in the field of land use policy and farmland conservation. He has a B.A. from Brown University, and a J.D. from Vermont Law School.
Jenna Antonino DiMare
Jenna is the business manager and creative director for The Mushroom Forager. She co-founded The Mushroom Forager, LLC with Ari in 2010, and frequently joins Ari in teaching workshops. She is the creator of the popular ForageCast, and is The Mushroom Forager’s lead photographer.
Jenna is intimately familiar with New England forest ecology and relishes the treasure hunt of finding and collecting wild food. She is a passionate chef who loves to cook with fresh, local ingredients and wild mushrooms. Jenna can periodically be found whipping up delectable morsels of wild mushrooms in The Mushroom Forager's forest pop-up kitchen, which makes special appearances at select workshops.
Jenna also serves as the Executive Director of non-profit Vermont Green Building Network and directs the Burlington 2030 District, an urban sustainability and climate change initiative focused on energy efficiency in the City of Burlington. Jenna completed a graduate program (MLA) in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University, and she received her B.A. from Brown University, where she studied architecture and environmental issues with a focus on sustainable agriculture.
Eliana Mina
Born in morel season of 2014, Eliana is a full-fledged forager and enthusiastic assistant during occasional workshops. She has an insatiable appetite for morels and porcini, and a keen eye for black trumpets. Her fresh forager’s eyes and constant smile are invaluable assets to this foraging family.
Noemi Adela
Born in morel season of 2019, Noemi will be entering her sixth season with her mycophilic family in 2024. This sweet, easygoing little one loves accompanying her family on forest hikes and is always delighted to try gourmet mushrooms from the comfort of her high chair.
