With West Texas Native Seeds, Helen helps collect native forb and grass seeds, grow them in our greenhouse, evaluate them in our fields, and then produce them for distribution to commercial seed growers to be used for restoration projects.

Helen previously assisted BRI researchers with mountain lion research in the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park. In Austin, Helen conducted salamander surveys and captive management with the City of Austin Watershed Protection Department and also taught as an outdoor educator with the City of Austin and private outdoor schools.

She completed her master’s in Ecology from the University of Tennessee doing field research on human-elephant conflict in Kenya. Helen and her husband return to Africa frequently to assist in various conservation projects, including human-elephant conflict mitigation in Tanzania and wildlife surveys and education training in Kenya.