Michelle Marvier is professor in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Santa Clara University and coauthor of the pathbreaking textbook Conservation Science: Balancing the Needs of People and Nature. Michelle has published widely in the fields of endangered species management, conservation investment, and environmental risk assessment, and she is on the editorial board of the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Environment. "Science that illuminates public decisions, but does not prescribe those decisions," Michelle says, "is the vision that shapes my research, my classroom teaching, my one-on-one mentoring, and my professional service." This vision has translated into extensive research on ecosystem services and their benefits for humans, as well as the various bases for priority-setting in conservation and how public support for conservation can be increased. Michelle's engagement in these topics has put her at the cutting edge of the American and global conservation movement. An essay she co-wrote for the Breakthrough Journal, later followed up by a peer-reviewed article in BioScience, has stirred much debate and defined the possibilities and controversies surrounding emerging novel approaches to conservation.