Hilary Swain, Ph.D.

Executive Director Emerita | Archbold Biological Station

2026 George B. Fell Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Dr. Hilary Swain is the 2026 recipient of the George B. Fell Lifetime Achievement Award, NAA’s highest honor. Over three decades as Executive Director of Archbold Biological Station, Swain provided transformative leadership at the intersection of science, conservation, and education, helping protect some of Florida’s rarest ecosystems and the many threatened and endangered species they support.

During her tenure, Swain oversaw the stewardship of more than 20,000 acres while helping influence the protection of hundreds of thousands more across Florida. She advanced the use of prescribed fire, innovative water management, conservation easements, land acquisition, and land-use planning, while building enduring partnerships with ranchers and other landowners to demonstrate how working landscapes can contribute to conservation. Her ability to bridge science, policy, and community helped overcome political, financial, and cultural barriers to achieve lasting conservation outcomes.

Swain also helped build Archbold into a globally respected research, conservation, and education institution and a catalyst for natural areas protection at local, regional, and statewide scales. Through service on nonprofit boards and government advisory bodies, as well as her mentorship of generations of scientists and practitioners, her influence extends far beyond the lands she directly helped steward. Her career exemplifies the sustained commitment, collaboration, innovation, and perseverance at the heart of the George B. Fell Lifetime Achievement Award.

Southeastern Center for Conservation at Atlanta Botanical Garden

2026 Carl N. Becker Stewardship Award Recipient

The Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Southeastern Center for Conservation is the 2026 recipient of the Carl N. Becker Stewardship Award, recognizing its exceptional commitment to the conservation and stewardship of imperiled plants and natural communities throughout the Southeast.

The Center has built one of the nation’s most comprehensive plant conservation programs, integrating conservation genetics, seed banking, micropropagation, cryopreservation, field biology, ecological restoration, and species reintroduction into a unified approach to preventing plant extinction. Its work has advanced the recovery of highly imperiled species, strengthened conservation of threatened ecosystems, and provided scientific tools and expertise that benefit land managers and conservation partners well beyond individual projects.

The Center pairs scientific innovation with stewardship on the ground. In partnership with the Florida Park Service, its team restored more than 310 acres of fire-suppressed coastal dune lake wetlands at Deer Lake State Park without the use of herbicides, while long-term monitoring documented improvements in hydrology and responses among plants, insects, and herpetofauna. Its team has also pioneered creative approaches ranging from conservation detector dogs used to locate cryptic orchid populations to agroforestry conservation models that connect rare plant recovery with sustainable livelihoods.

Perhaps most importantly, the Center demonstrates the power of collaboration. Its 42-person team works across 15 states and with international partners, bringing together disciplines that are too often separated in conservation practice. The Center has built lasting conservation capacity across the Southeast through leadership of the Bog Learning Network, co-founding the Southeastern Plant Conservation Alliance, development of the nation’s first regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need list for plants, and extensive partnerships with agencies, researchers, and land managers.

Through scientific rigor, innovative stewardship, and a deeply collaborative approach to solving difficult conservation challenges, the Southeastern Center for Conservation embodies the spirit of the Carl N. Becker Stewardship Award and provides a powerful model for modern plant conservation.

Megan Crecelius

Forest Ecologist/Botanist, Division of Forestry | Indiana Department of Natural Resources

2026 Rising Leader Award Recipient

Megan Crecelius is the 2026 recipient of the Natural Areas Association Rising Leader Award, recognizing her emerging leadership, innovative thinking, and growing impact on natural areas conservation and stewardship.

As Forest Ecology Program Director and Botanist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry, Crecelius has quickly established herself as a leader in forest conservation. In a newly created leadership position, she developed guidelines for Indiana’s High Conservation Value Forests and leads a multidisciplinary committee of scientists, historians, archeologists, and other experts in developing management plans for these important properties. She has also helped create new approaches for understory vegetation monitoring, small-wetland assessment, and ecological review of state forest lands.

Crecelius pairs this innovation with a strong commitment to collaboration and species conservation. Through the Indiana Plant Conservation Alliance, she works with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, consultants, and other partners to conserve some of Indiana’s most endangered plants. She has established monitoring for threatened and endangered plants on State Forests, contributed to updates of U.S. Forest Service LANDFIRE models, and continues to support forest inventory programs while serving as a technical resource to colleagues and the public.

Her leadership extends beyond individual projects. Crecelius maintains an active research program, including long-term research at the Hoosier Ecosystem Experiment, mentors younger professionals, shares her expertise across conservation and science organizations, and has been repeatedly recognized by her colleagues at IDNR for her contributions.

Throughout her emerging career, Crecelius has demonstrated an eagerness not only to learn and contribute, but also to improve established practices and create opportunities for others to succeed in conservation. Her combination of scientific curiosity, collaborative leadership, professionalism, and enthusiasm represents the promise and impact the Rising Leader Award was created to recognize.