Gretchen C. Daily is Associate Professor (Research) in the Department of Biological Sciences and Senior Fellow in the Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. Gretchen's work is aimed at developing a scientific basis for managing Earth's life support systems, supported by appropriate institutions and policies. Her primary scientific efforts concern the future of biodiversity. She is investigating both the likely course of extinction and novel opportunities for conservation in human-dominated agricultural regions, particularly in the tropics. She is also assessing the likely societal consequences of biodiversity loss and other ecosystem transformations. In collaboration with a diverse group of academicians (including economists and legal scholars) and members of the private sector and government, she is forging new policy approaches to securing protection of critical aspects of Earth's life support systems. The title of her lecture is The Quest to Make Conversation Profitable.