The Wetlands Initiative
Abby Mattson currently serves as the Director of Development & Communications at The Wetlands Initiative, a position held since July 2023. Previously, Abby held various roles at Openlands from September 2018 to June 2023, including Assistant Director of Development, Manager of Individual Giving & Special Events, and Development Coordinator & Board Liaison. Earlier experience includes working as an Assistant Research Administrator at Northwestern University's Molecular Biosciences Department from May 2017 to September 2018, and serving as a Range Technician with the U.S. Forest Service in 2016. Abby's internship experiences include roles at Amargosa Conservancy and Bureau of Land Management. Abby also contributed as a New Student Orientation Leader and Undergraduate Teaching Assistant during time at the University of Puget Sound, which culminated in a Bachelor of Science in Natural Science Biology and Environmental Policy and Decision Making. Abby is further enhancing expertise with a Certificate in Principles & Techniques of Fundraising from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and a Certificate in Negotiation for Professionals from Northwestern University.
This person is not in any teams
The Wetlands Initiative
The Wetlands Initiative (TWI) envisions a world with plentiful healthy wetlands improving water quality, climate, biodiversity, and human well-being. Wetlands are more varied than most people know. There are marshes, wet meadows, wet prairies, swamps, bogs, fens, seeps, and more. And they don’t exist in isolation but as part of a mosaic of habitats that together comprise a healthy ecosystem. That’s why TWI—despite the name—restores wetlands and their associated habitats. Wetlands are also varied in the “services” they provide for society and the environment. Besides sustaining a huge number of plant and animal species, they can improve water quality; reduce erosion and flood damage; and even moderate the effects of climate change by sequestering carbon. Not to mention they’re often beautiful places for people to hike, paddle, birdwatch, and otherwise enjoy the outdoors. Looked at from the perspective of what they do, the value of wetlands is quite tangible and quantifiable—as is the high cost of having lost so many over the past 200 years. It’s because they’re so valuable that the Wetlands Initiative is dedicated to bringing them back in Illinois and beyond.