Taproot Collaborative

Picture of Scotty Johnson - Founding Director

Scotty Johnson - Founding Director

Taproot founder Scotty Johnson spent the last thirty years as a conservationist, climate educator, and Permaculture design specialist. During this time, he lectured extensively for former Vice-President Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, served as National Outreach representative for Defenders of Wildlife, and founded the Lanai Permaculture Institute. During that time, Scotty maintained a passion for healing inherited from his father, who worked as a country doctor in rural Arizona. Alongside conservation efforts, he studied Integrative medicine and Transpersonal psychology with pioneers Drs. Andrew Weil and Stanislav Grof, investigating ancient healing methods practiced by the Tibetan Bon, Celtic, and other cross-cultural traditions.

These explorations convinced him that the Earth, like the human body, has an innate intelligence that keeps all functions healthy and balanced. "We take for granted," he says, "that when we cut ourselves, our bodies rush in to stop the bleeding, fight infection, and repair the flesh. Yet we fail to consider that the Earth has a similar healing intelligence." Scotty believes that integrating different perspectives to engage this intelligence is uncharted territory with tremendous potential to hasten global restoration. He founded Taproot to further this awareness.

Picture of Carianne Funicelli - Co-Convener

Carianne Funicelli - Co-Convener

Ms. Funicelli is the owner of Strategic Habitat Enhancements, LLC, based in Tucson, Arizona, and she brings over 20 years of experience in natural resources management projects throughout the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. She designs, implements, and monitors science-based restoration projects in both urban and wildland settings, and specializes in developing applied vegetation ecology methodologies to support site-specific restoration prescriptions. Ms. Funicelli has concentrated on collaborative efforts over the past several years and maintains excellent rapport with local, state, and federal government agencies, as well as landowners, scientists and numerous community volunteers to achieve restoration and conservation goals. Her most recent work explores restoration approaches and methods that maximize resources for pollinators, particularly through the thoughtful use of diverse native plant palettes.

Ms. Funicelli is a well-known advocate for native plant restoration, and actively contributes to the field through regional conference planning and extensive oral and written presentations for both general and professional audiences. She is an Advanced SmartScape Instructor with the Pima County Cooperative Extension. She also has a long history of involvement with local conservation organizations and on a variety of advisory committees. Ms. Funicelli supports the work of several regional non-profit conservation organizations with fundraising and grant-writing assistance, and she is currently on the Board of La Tierra del Jaguar.

Picture of Dominika Heusinkveld - Projects Coordinator

Dominika Heusinkveld - Projects Coordinator

Dr. Heusinkveld is a retired physician and public health professional who changed careers to journalism, environmental science, and science communication. She holds degrees in journalism and environmental science from the University of Arizona. She currently works at Strategic Habitat Enhancements and as a digital producer at the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Arizona’s newspaper of record. She holds a certificate in digital media. She is passionate about citizen science and about communicating climate and ecology science to the public.

Picture of Beedona Lee Cracium - Senior Outreach and Education Associate

Beedona Lee Cracium - Senior Outreach and Education Associate

Beedona Lee Cracium is a member of the San Carlos Apache community, specifically the K' Ablnago Teln clan, which is associated with the flat areas where bamboo and willows grow. Beedona's Apache name, "Falling Leaves," was bestowed upon her by her grandmother, Lucy Mull Grant Dosela, because she was born in October when leaves gracefully descend from the trees.

Beedona spent most of her life on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, residing in the small town of Bylas, Arizona, located on the eastern edge of the reservation. Her academic journey began at Ft. Thomas High School and continued through Eastern Arizona Jr. College and Northern Arizona University, where she achieved a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources Management with a focus on Forestry. Currently, Beedona is pursuing a Teaching Certificate in Education.

For nearly four decades, Beedona dedicated her career to serving her community, working primarily with the Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Her roles centered on the Fire Management Program and Forestry Department.

Beedona is a proud grandmother and mother of four grown children: Blaine, Dennis, Cameron, and Cheyanne. She also has ten beloved grandchildren. Although she retired from her position as the Tribal Woodlands Forester due to health challenges two years ago, she now enjoys improved well-being. Beedona has embarked on a new professional journey with Taproot Collaborative.

Her interests and hobbies encompass a wide range of activities. Beedona is passionate about participating in and watching sporting events, crafting traditional clothing and blankets, actively participating in traditional ceremonies, nurturing her grandchildren, exploring her love for shopping and collecting antiques, and passing down the rich history, culture, and language of her people to the younger generation. She also enjoys camping and immersing herself in the great outdoors, learning about various indigenous cultures, reading about historical events, watching heartwarming movies that elicit tears, forming lasting friendships, and embracing her faith in Ulsen, the Creator, by attending church regularly.

Advisors

Picture of Wendsler Nosie, Sr., Ph.D.

Wendsler Nosie, Sr., Ph.D.

Wendsler Nosie Sr. is a former Tribal President for the San Carlos Apache Nation and has twice served as Tribal Councilman representing the Peridot District. He attended Merritt College, Phoenix college, and the State of Arizona Banking Academy, then in 2018 received a PhD in Bioethics, Sustainability, and Global Public Health from the University of Sovereign Nations, where he now teaches as a Professor of Indigenous Knowledge.

He has received awards from Wake Forest University and the National Council of Churches for his accomplishments in Indian Country, and a presidential award from the National Progressive Baptist Convention for his fight for human rights for all Native Americans, the first Native American to receive such an award. Dr. Nosie has founded numerous businesses and organizations in San Carlos, including: the Rural Opportunities of Arizona (ROA), the nonprofit Apaches for Cultural Preservation, the Apache Messenger Newspaper, and Apache Stronghold, an organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of Native American culture, artifacts, history religion, and tradition. Dr. Nosie is a long-distance runner and in 2011 founded the Spirit of the Mountain runners. He now resides in Peridot, with his wife, Theresa, their six children and seventeen grandchildren.

Picture of Dr. Andrew Weil, MD

Dr. Andrew Weil, MD

Andrew Weil. MD, is the founder & Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, where he also holds the Lovell-Jones Endowed Chair in Integrative Medicine and is Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health. Author of 15 popular books, he has devoted the past 30 years to developing, teaching, and educating others on the principles of integrative medicine, medicinal herbs, and mind-body interactions. Oxford University Press is currently producing the Weil Integrative Medicine Library, a series of volumes for clinicians in various medical specialties with Dr. Weil as the series editor.

Dr. Weil says this about Taproot’s approach: “In combing scientific knowledge with ancient wisdom, Taproot Collaborative is pioneering new paths in restoration ecology. Their research on the importance of fungi to forest health is a promising new field that can hep us tackle climate change and other environmental challenges.”

Picture of Paul Stamets

Paul Stamets

Paul Stamets is the author of seven books on mushrooms. He is an Invention Ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was inducted into The Explorer’s Club in 2020. He has received numerous awards, including the National Mycologist Award (2014) from the North American Mycological Association (NAMA), and the Gordon & Tina Wasson Award (2015) from the Mycological Society of America (MSA). 
 
His work has entered the mainstream of popular culture. In the new Star Trek: Discovery series on CBS, the Science Officer is portrayed by an Astromycologist.... a Lt. Paul Stamets. Paul's work with mycelium became a central theme of this series.

Picture of Merlin Sheldrake, Ph.D.

Merlin Sheldrake, Ph.D.

Merlin is a biologist and author of Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures. Merlin received a Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama, where he was a predoctoral research fellow of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Entangled Life is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, won the Royal Society Book Prize and the Wainwright Prize 2021, and has been translated into twenty-two languages. Merlin is a research associate of the Vrije University Amsterdam, and works with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks and the Fungi Foundation.

Research Collaborators from the University of Arizona

Albert Barberán, Ph.D. Microbial Ecologist, University of Arizona

https://environmentalscience.cals.arizona.edu/person/albert-barberán

Elise Gornish, UA Cooperative Extension Specialist in Restoration

https://snre.arizona.edu/people/elise-gornish

Project Partners

San Carlos Apache Tribal Members

http://www.sancarlosapache.com/home.htm

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension

https://extension.arizona.edu

United States Forest Service, Coronado National Forest, Safford Ranger District

https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/coronado/about-forest/districts

Gila Watershed Partnership

https://www.gwpaz.org

Strategic Habit Enhancements, LLC

https://www.strategichabitats.com