Mary Huffman received her BS in Resource Conservation from the University of Montana, her MS in Botany from Miami University in Ohio and her PhD in fire science from Colorado State University.  Her doctoral dissertation focused on connections among traditional fire knowledge, community-based fire management and the fire ecology of Ocote pine (Pinus oocarpa) in Chiapas, Mexico. Mary is a career-long employee of The Nature Conservancy, specializing in prescribed fire management and fire management partnerships.  She currently serves as the Director of the Indigenous Peoples Burning Network.  Mary would like to acknowledge the Indigenous Peoples who have cared for the world’s ecosystems with fire since time immemorial.