Helen Marie Burns, R.S.M. (Detroit) is a native of Independence, Iowa. She was a secondary school educator in Detroit and Michigan, a former vice-president of the Sisters of Mercy of the Union (1984–1991), and past provincial administrator of the Sisters of Mercy in Detroit. She served as president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (1989–1992). She lectures often on religious life, leadership and charism of the Sisters of Mercy. Currently she is completing doctoral studies in women and religion at the University of Iowa, Iowa City.