Profile of Dr. Laura Huenneke

Northern Arizona University
PO Box 5621
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5621
Phone: (928) 523-2701
laura.huenneke@nau.edu

Current Position: Vice President of Research, Northern Arizona University

Education: Ph.D., Biology, Cornell University, 1983

Dr. Huenneke’s research interests include conservation biology (especially the biology of invasive species and of rare plants), the consequences of biodiversity loss, and the community and ecosystem dynamics of arid lands.  She worked in southeastern swamp forests, California grasslands, and Hawaii’s wet forests before concentrating on the Chihuahuan desert, the least well known of North America’s hot deserts.   Dr. Huenneke has edited two books, and served on the editorial boards of Conservation Biology, Journal of Ecology, and Ecological Applications.  She serves as Vice President for Public Affairs for the Ecological Society of America, and is a former fellow of the Aldo Leopold Leadership program, a program designed to provide academic ecologists with skills for communicating with a broad range of audiences.  Additionally, she has served as an advisor to the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a leader of the New Mexico Rare Plant Recovery Team.