Norma Fowler, Ph.D.

Professor Emerita | University of Texas at Austin

2025 George B. Fell Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Dr. Norma Fowler, Professor Emerita, University of Texas at Austin, is the 2025 recipient of the 2025 George B. Fell Lifetime Achievement Award. She has dedicated nearly five decades to ecological research and conservation across Texas. Her work spans grasslands, deserts, woodlands, and fire-adapted ecosystems and has shaped endangered species protections, advanced ecological theory, and informed land management practices nationwide.

Dr. Fowler’s long-term studies have been foundational for understanding fire, herbivory, invasive species, and population dynamics in Texas landscapes. Additionally, her work documenting the ecological impacts of the U.S./Mexico border wall elevated national awareness of how sensitive habitats and rare species were threatened by construction.

A hallmark of her career has been her dedication to collaboration and community building. Her mentorship has supported generations of scientists and practitioners who now serve across agencies, universities, and conservation organizations. Students and colleagues describe her as brilliant, generous, and unwaveringly supportive. Even at major scientific meetings, she is known to sit with early-career researchers to listen, encourage, and help refine their ideas.

Dr. Fowler is an example of what each practitioner should strive for: remaining passionate about the work we do, maintaining curiosity for the natural world, and using our knowledge to speak up and defend the conservation of ecosystems around us.

Mike Leahy

Natural Community Ecologist | Missouri Department of Conservation

2025 Carl N. Becker Stewardship Award Recipient

Mike Leahy, Natural Areas Coordinator, Missouri Department of Conservation, is the 2025 Carl N. Becker Stewardship Award recipient. Mike’s career is distinguished by his dedication to safeguarding native biodiversity. Working across Missouri, Virginia, and Indiana, he has developed, restored, and managed natural areas through scientific expertise, hands-on stewardship, and collaborative leadership.

For over 30 years, Mike has been a driving force in protecting and restoring Missouri’s natural communities. He has contributed extraordinary leadership and stewardship to the protection and restoration of Missouri’s natural communities. From coordinating the state’s Natural Areas System to advancing natural community classification, monitoring, and restoration, his work reflects a rare combination of scientific expertise, creativity, and public engagement. 

Mike has worked at both the national and state levels to advocate for natural diversity conservation through interagency partnerships, independent fieldwork, team research projects, public education, and more. His work co-developing the Community Health Index (CHI) model has reshaped how practitioners assess prairie remnants, Ozark glades, woodlands, and shortleaf pine ecosystems. Mike personally conducts CHI monitoring and trains staff in its use across agencies.

Mike's steady leadership within NAA has strengthened natural areas programs across the U.S., and continues today as he works with colleagues to expand CHI monitoring in the Ozarks.

Heidi Braunreiter

Botanist & Prescribed Fire Prog. Coordinator | Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves

2025 Rising Leader Award Recipient

Heidi Braunreiter, Prescribed Fire Program Coordinator, Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves, is the 2025 Rising Leader Award recipient. A dynamic rising leader, Heidi has rapidly become one of Kentucky’s most skilled naturalists and an influential force in prescribed fire, rare plant conservation, ecological restoration, and collaborative leadership. 

As a Kentucky Certified Burn Boss, Heidi transformed the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves’ prescribed fire program into one of its most efficient ever. She led the complex 200-acre Mt. Victory burn with outstanding skill, and her colleagues described it as one of the smoothest and most effective burns they had ever experienced. 

Heidi is known to mentor new fire practitioners, teaching ignition methods and fire behavior to build confidence and capacity. Colleagues describe her as innovative, inclusive, reliable, inspiring, and someone who leads with both competence and heart. 

Through her work, Heidi has supported colleagues, inspired the next generation, and provided stability during organizational change, all while advancing conservation outcomes at a high level.