FFSC Ministers
Ministers?? To be sure, but in a political rather than a religious sense. Think Prime Minister or Minister of the Exchequer. We have both, and many more ministers, on our board.
Winter Chanterelles Bunch. Photo by Yevgeny Nyden
FFSC took its name and structure using the “Federation of Planets” model. Instead of a president, vice president, etc, we have a board of Ministers and subcommittees who volunteer their time to plan and run classes, forays, culinary events and other activities to implement our mission.
FFSC Ministers are a hard-working group of volunteers who plan and run FFSC activities aligned with our mission. Members elect or re-elect ministers every 2 years in May. To get a sense of what is entailed in these positions, see our FFSC Bylaws.
The group meets monthly from September through May at 7 PM on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. We're an eating and drinking club, so of course the evening begins with a potluck (often with wine) and social hour!
After dinner, we circle up to discuss and vote on current and future business and to plan forays, classes, and other club activities.
Some of the minister duties are quite involved, so each minister may also have a sub-committee of members to help them. If you're an FFSC member, consider volunteering to help a minister! It's is a great way to get involved with the club, learn more, gain leadership experience, and potentially become an FFSC minister yourself one day!
Current Ministers
Here is the current slate of ministers, as of May 2025:
Prime Minister: Vellany Pierce
Vice Prime Minister: Mark Gillespie
Minister of Programs: Peter Mu
Scribe: John Munoz
Minister of Exchequer: Margaret Carpenter
Ministers of Membership: Richard Rammer & Jeanne Gonda
Ministers of Propaganda: Suhani Saraswat & Dan Tischler
Minister of Local Forays: Dan Tischler
Minister of Long Distance Forays: Kitty Elvin
Fungus Fair Coordinator: Peter Mu
Minister of Culinary Events: Bob Wynn
Minister of Sustenance: Bob Wynn
Ministers of Web: Lisa Tesler & Shea Moss
Minister of Video: Vellany Pierce
Minister of Education: Jeanne Gonda
Minister of Stores: Andrea Wilson
Science Advisors: Phil Carpenter, Christian Schwarz, and Henry Young
North American Mycological Association (NAMA) Representative: Phil Carpenter
Ministers at Large: Ian Hunter, Bill Lewis