Matt Johnston
Executive Director
Matt Johnston is the Executive Director of the Arundel Rivers Federation.
He previously served as Anne Arundel County’s first Environmental Policy Director. As Environmental Policy Director, Matt led county and statewide efforts to pass new forest conservation and stormwater management laws, and ushered in a new conservation-first, smart growth focus among County agencies.
Prior to becoming the County’s first Environmental Policy Director, Matt was Senior Policy Analyst with the US EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program, and faculty member of the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland.
Matt is originally from the Midwest and holds a Master of Public Affairs degree in Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management from the Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, as well as undergraduate degrees from the University of Missouri.
He moved to Maryland twelve years ago to begin his environmental policy career with the Chesapeake Research Consortium working alongside the scientists right here at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
He now lives with his wife and son across the Rhode River from SERC, and can always be found on a summer day watching St. Louis Cardinals baseball, hiking through Maryland, or kayaking the rivers of Anne Arundel County.
