Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and raised with three brothers in Nevin Community, just north of Charlotte, Helen has spent much of her adult life in Atlanta, serving for 28 years in the Biology Department at CSU, first as an Assistant Professor and working her way up to full Professor.  At CSU she taught environmental science, general biology, general botany, and life science teacher education.  She retired in 2000.  Between her North Carolina and Georgia years, Helen has been and taught in a number of places. Her first position after college was that of a junior high teacher in Gastonia, N.C.  followed by two years at RAF Woodbridge in England where she taught science and math in grades 7, 8, and 9 for the U.S. Air Force. After the Air Force, Helen moved to Brevard County, Florida, where she taught 9^th grade biology before returning to graduate school at the University Minnesota and then the University of Florida where she received a Ph.D. in botany.  That was followed by teaching plant morphology, plant physiology and general biology two years at Augusta College in Augusta, Georgia, before she assumed her 28 years at CJC and CSU.  When asked about all these years as a science teacher, her response was “I always tried to relate the biology and science I was teaching to the lives of my students--maybe I succeeded sometimes?” In addition to teaching biology, during her academic tenure, Helen has published extensively on the subject of aquatic biology. While with the Air Force in England, Helen traveled extensively in Europe and the Middle East, and after retiring traveled to the Pacific Northwest, to San Francisco, to New Mexico, to Gatlinburg, to the Galapagos Islands, and back again to North Carolina for class and family reunions. She had spent over 25 years serving on the Board at the Reynolds Nature Perserve providing part of the leadership needed to organize volunteers toward removing most of the invasive plants and restoring the native plants, the hardwood forest, and the natural  habitats at Reynolds. In 2002, soon after she retired, Helen and Peggy Capell joined energies and founded the Clayton State Retiree Association, with Helen serving as our first president and since then as a faithful and active Benefits Chair, always trying to look out for her retired colleagues’ health and benefit interests. In fact, living a healthy lifestyle is one of Helen’s personal goals:  she has studied Tai Chi and Yoga at the senior center and at a retreat center in Santa Cruz, California.  She became certified as a Clayton County Master Gardener. As Benefits Chair, Helen stays informed about seniors’ health issues and their management—to include exercise, nutrition, and medical advances.

Note written by Helen Davis Brown