Alex Matthiessen
Encyclopedia
Alex Matthiessen is an environmentalist and lives in New York City. He is the son of author and naturalist Peter Matthiessen
.
at Santa Cruz in 1988 with a BA in Biology and Environmental Studies, and earned his Masters of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University
in 1995.
Matthiessen began his activist career in 1990 as the grassroots program director for the Rainforest Action Network
in San Francisco. In this capacity, he organized and managed an international network of affiliate activist groups. During the summer of 1994, he interned at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. From 1995-96, Matthiessen worked for the Harvard Institute for International Development
(HIID) as a macroeconomic policy analyst in the Indonesian Ministry of Finance.
In 1997, Matthiessen was appointed as a special assistant to the U.S. Department of the Interior, where he worked on matters of special importance for Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
. He managed a multi-agency task force charged with reforming the hydropower licensing process of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
. He was also co-creator and head of the Green Energy Parks initiative, a joint program between the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service
and the Department of Energy
, which promotes renewable and energy efficient technology throughout the national park system. Matthiessen received a Presidential Award from the White House for his work on this project.
Matthiessen was Riverkeeper
’s chief executive from 2000 to 2010 and served on the organization's board of directors during that time. Under his direction, Riverkeeper—an environmental non-profit that protects and defends the Hudson River
and the New York City
watershed
-- maintained a full-time patrol boat enforcement presence up and down the Hudson River and its tributaries, and extended its principal jurisdiction from north of Albany to New York Harbor. In addition to strengthening the group’s traditional enforcement role, Matthiessen pushed the organization to develop long-term, preventative strategies designed to strengthen the deterrents and incentives necessary to avoid pollution in the first place.
Under Matthiessen’s leadership, Riverkeeper joined forces with institutions such as Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
, Columbia University
School of Law
, and Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, to enhance scientific understanding of the Hudson River, as well as stop what it views as ill-conceived development projects along the waterfront.
In 2006, Matthiessen served on New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer
’s transition team as an advisor on the new administration’s goals for energy and environmental policy. He also served as chair of the energy committee for Westchester County’s Climate Change Task Force as well as chair of the MTA Blue Ribbon Commission on Sustainability’s water committee. Matthiessen also served on the boards of directors of the Hudson River Improvement Fund, Governor's Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), and Waterkeeper Alliance
-- the umbrella organization for over 190 Waterkeeper programs around the world dedicated to protecting local water resources. He currently serves on the board of the Catskill Mountainkeeper.
In July, 2010, Matthiessen started an environmental consulting firm, Matthiessen Strategies, based in New York City, with clients in New York, Massachusetts, and Vancouver.
Peter Matthiessen
Peter Matthiessen is a two-time National Book Award-winning American novelist and non-fiction writer, as well as an environmental activist...
.
Biography
Mr. Matthiessen graduated from the University of CaliforniaUniversity of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
at Santa Cruz in 1988 with a BA in Biology and Environmental Studies, and earned his Masters of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1995.
Matthiessen began his activist career in 1990 as the grassroots program director for the Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Action Network is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, USA. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, with the financial help of Fund for Wild Nature....
in San Francisco. In this capacity, he organized and managed an international network of affiliate activist groups. During the summer of 1994, he interned at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. From 1995-96, Matthiessen worked for the Harvard Institute for International Development
Harvard Institute for International Development
The Harvard Institute for International Development was a think-tank dedicated to helping nations join the global economy, operating between 1974 and 2000...
(HIID) as a macroeconomic policy analyst in the Indonesian Ministry of Finance.
In 1997, Matthiessen was appointed as a special assistant to the U.S. Department of the Interior, where he worked on matters of special importance for Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
Bruce Babbitt
Bruce Edward Babbitt , a Democrat, served as United States Secretary of the Interior and as the 16th governor of Arizona, from 1978 to 1987.-Biography:...
. He managed a multi-agency task force charged with reforming the hydropower licensing process of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the United States federal agency with jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, hydroelectric licensing, natural gas pricing, and oil pipeline rates...
. He was also co-creator and head of the Green Energy Parks initiative, a joint program between the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
and the Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
, which promotes renewable and energy efficient technology throughout the national park system. Matthiessen received a Presidential Award from the White House for his work on this project.
Matthiessen was Riverkeeper
Riverkeeper
Riverkeeper is an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the Hudson River and its tributaries, as well as the watersheds that provide New York City with its drinking water...
’s chief executive from 2000 to 2010 and served on the organization's board of directors during that time. Under his direction, Riverkeeper—an environmental non-profit that protects and defends the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
and the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
-- maintained a full-time patrol boat enforcement presence up and down the Hudson River and its tributaries, and extended its principal jurisdiction from north of Albany to New York Harbor. In addition to strengthening the group’s traditional enforcement role, Matthiessen pushed the organization to develop long-term, preventative strategies designed to strengthen the deterrents and incentives necessary to avoid pollution in the first place.
Under Matthiessen’s leadership, Riverkeeper joined forces with institutions such as Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
The Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory is a research unit of Columbia University located on a campus in Palisades, N.Y., north of Manhattan on the Hudson River.- History :...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
School of Law
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
, and Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, to enhance scientific understanding of the Hudson River, as well as stop what it views as ill-conceived development projects along the waterfront.
In 2006, Matthiessen served on New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
’s transition team as an advisor on the new administration’s goals for energy and environmental policy. He also served as chair of the energy committee for Westchester County’s Climate Change Task Force as well as chair of the MTA Blue Ribbon Commission on Sustainability’s water committee. Matthiessen also served on the boards of directors of the Hudson River Improvement Fund, Governor's Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), and Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance is an environmental organization founded in 1999, responding to a growing movement of organizations with the name Riverkeeper, Baykeeper, Soundkeeper, and other related "keeper" names, of which there are over 150 around the globe...
-- the umbrella organization for over 190 Waterkeeper programs around the world dedicated to protecting local water resources. He currently serves on the board of the Catskill Mountainkeeper.
In July, 2010, Matthiessen started an environmental consulting firm, Matthiessen Strategies, based in New York City, with clients in New York, Massachusetts, and Vancouver.