2025 Rising Leader Award Recipient
The Natural Areas Association (NAA) has named Heidi Braunreiter, Prescribed Fire Program Coordinator for the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves (OKNP), as recipient of the 2025 Rising Leader Award for her advancements toward ecological health in Kentucky.
Braunreiter currently serves on the KNPS Executive Board as a Director and is Treasurer for the Kentucky Prescribed Fire Council. She has been with KNPS since 2017, previously as Secretary and Vice-President. Additionally, she is a certified Burn Boss: an expert in the science of controlled fire.
The NAA, a nonprofit dedicated to professionals who steward natural areas for the protection of biodiversity, annually awards individuals and organizations who make extraordinary contributions in the management and protection of natural areas.
Braunreiter’s love for plants and fire go hand in hand. She first began professionally working with fire as a Fire Effects Monitoring Intern with the U.S. Forest Service and later completed another internship at the Red River Gorge Geological Area as the Lead Backcountry Ranger Intern. After finishing her Master’s degree, she volunteered at Blue Grass Army Depot and received training to become a burn crew member before joining OKNP.
“Now I help implement all of our burns, and I love it, because I get to incorporate both my love of plants and fire into the same job,” Braunreiter said.
She holds an M.S. in Biology from Eastern Kentucky University as well as a B.S. in Biological Aspects of Conservation and a certificate in Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves:
“Heidi, our Prescribed Fire Program Coordinator, has rapidly become one of Kentucky’s most skilled naturalists and a driving force in prescribed fire, rare plant conservation, ecological restoration, and collaborative leadership across the region. In just a few short years, she has made lasting impacts on natural areas management in Kentucky while inspiring partners, colleagues, and the next generation of conservation professionals. As a certified Burn Boss, Heidi brings a powerful combination of scientific rigor, botanical expertise, and inclusive, community-minded leadership to her work. Her commitment to safeguarding biodiversity and strengthening conservation partnerships embodies exactly what the Rising Leader Award was created to honor.”
Natural Areas Association:
“A dynamic rising leader, Heidi Braunreiter has rapidly become one of Kentucky’s most skilled naturalists and an influential force in prescribed fire, rare plant conservation, ecological restoration, and collaborative leadership. Her impact extends across prescribed fire, rare plant protection, terrestrial vertebrate research, and statewide collaboration. She has supported colleagues, inspired the next generation, and provided stability during organizational change while advancing conservation outcomes at a high level. As a certified Burn Boss, her statewide fire-management leadership and botanical expertise demonstrate the innovative thinking, inclusive leadership, and collaborative approach that define a true rising leader in natural areas conservation.”
In collaboration with expert botanists and biologists (like Braunreiter!), prescribed fire can be applied to affected areas by burning crews to promote native plant growth. Reach out to the Kentucky Prescribed Fire Council at https://www.kyfire.org/contact or by emailing kyfirecouncil@gmail.com.
Stay tuned for more about Heidi Braunreiter’s great work as a Burn Boss in Kentucky!