Helen Rowe is an associate research professor in the School of Earth and Sustainability at Northern Arizona University. She works with land managers, citizen scientists, research partners, and students to improve ecological restoration, invasive species management techniques, and fire adaptation in arid environments. Additionally, she works with the NAU team of the Southwest Urban Integrated Field Laboratory on CO2 emissions modeling and observations. Dr. Rowe co-chairs the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Sonoran Desert Plant Species Specialist Group. This IUCN group is responsible for assessing the extinction risk of nearly 4,000 plant species in the Sonoran Desert and developing conservation plans for the most threatened species.