Our Team
Symbiosis. Silly job titles. Serious work.
Rhysa Ferris, Mad Scientist
When Rhysa Ferris moved into her first apartment at age 16, she built a mycology lab in the spare room. “This endeavor is so deeply tied to my sense of identity and I pour my whole heart and integrity into it. It reconnects me to my farm kid roots and what I respect most about my family,” she says. During times of national economic downturn, Rhysa’s family found ways to thrive – creating a wildly successful hybrid seed corn farm. Rhysa brings this same determination and grit to growing mushrooms where one might least expect them — the desert!
She has taught mycology classes at Colorado Mesa University's Community Learning Center for years, and she is grateful for the opportunity to take her knowledge and experience to new heights, with sharp focus. She feels most at home in her lab and the peaceful misty grow houses she builds. “Mycelium responds to subtleties — touch, sound, light, vibration — perhaps even mood, and with that in mind… I influence their environment,” she says.
Marc Hebert, Chief Fungi
Marc Hebert is the patriarch and preferred chef for his family gatherings. His wife and kids choose his cooking over most restaurants. The joy he finds in his garden and kitchen are part of the inspiration for Monumental Mushrooms. A gardener since the age of 14, Marc grew food and tropicals year-round in a home hobby greenhouse in New Hampshire for over a decade.
Marc, a Certified Financial Planner ™ made his career as President and CEO of The Harbor Group, a Registered Investment Advisor. The firm provided financial planning and wealth management services to its many clients. His garden, kitchen, and piano were his places of refuge from work.
In 2021, Marc sold his half of the practice to pursue partial retirement and other interests. In 2023 in addition to their home in New Hampshire near their son and grandson, he and Marie purchased a second home in Palisade to be closer to their daughter and her husband. In search of a way to combine their business experience and love of growing food to contribute to their new agricultural community in a new niche, Marc and Marie took a mycology class with Rhysa at CMU’s Community Education Center. Soon after, a partnership was formed and Monumental Mushrooms was born. When he isn’t working, Marc enjoys cooking and playing piano for his family, golf, pickleball, and hiking.