Georgina Pereira

Georgina Pereira is the Manager of Species Survival at Expo City Dubai, where she plays a leading role in establishing the world’s first IUCN Center for Species Survival dedicated to fungi.

Play episode

Hosted by

Hilmarie Hutchison

Georgina Pereira

Manager of Species Survival – Fungi, Terra at Expo City Dubai

Georgina Pereira is the Manager of Species Survival at Expo City Dubai, where she plays a leading role in establishing the world’s first IUCN Center for Species Survival dedicated to fungi. Georgina blends a deep love for biodiversity with a mission to elevate one of the planet’s most overlooked kingdoms.

Her path to conservation was anything but ordinary. Georgina trained as a lawyer before realizing the career she had pursued for years no longer aligned with her purpose. Living with ADHD added another layer to her journey, shaping how she works, learns, and hyper-focuses on what truly excites her. A slow, intentional reconnection with nature during the COVID years brought her back to her childhood fascination with mushrooms—and ultimately set her on a new scientific path.

Today, Georgina is a voice for the “missing kingdom,” championing fungi’s role in ecosystems, bioinnovation, climate resilience, and community engagement. Her passion has taken her from the courtroom to the desert, the laboratory, and even the TED stage, where she shared her story of reinvention, curiosity, and purpose.

About this Episode

In this episode, Georgina takes us inside her remarkable career shift—from the fast-paced world of litigation to the hidden world of fungi. She shares how growing up in Dubai taught her resilience and adaptability, and how navigating ADHD helped her understand what truly lights her up.

Georgina talks about the deeply personal moment that pushed her to walk away from law, slow down, and rediscover her connection to nature. That shift led her to biodiversity, mycology, and eventually a leadership role in global conservation—proving that sometimes the most unexpected paths lead to the most authentic purpose.

She explains why fungi are so much more than mushrooms, revealing how these organisms can break down plastics, clean contaminated soil, and even revolutionize the fashion industry through mycelium-based textiles. Georgina also shares the mission behind the UAE’s first national macrofungal checklist and why community involvement is key to mapping the country’s fungal diversity.

From imposter syndrome in STEM to finding joy in being “a little bit weird,” Georgina offers grounded advice for young women in science and honest reflections on what resilience truly means. Her story is a powerful reminder that slowing down can help you find your way back to the life you were meant to live.

“I started to look at what mattered the most to me and I started to really find biodiversity as my calling as a child. ”

Georgina Pereira

“It’s just perfectly all right to be a little bit weird, to be in your own space, and to thrive just when you need to.”
Georgina Pereira

Show highlights

Never think that it might not be something that's not your cup of tea just because one of the subjects aren't necessarily the best for you. -Georgina Pereira Click To Tweet

“I think the most mind-blowing thing that I figured out is that everything I look at, everything around me, is somehow connected back to fungi.”

Georgina Pereira

“I very quickly realized that if you’re truly, truly passionate about something, the way you find those answers are not necessarily in what people might seem as mainstream ways to be able to find answers.”

Georgina Pereira