Tawny Mata

Dr. Tawny Mata has pursued a lifelong goal of contributing to sustainability through science. In 2013, Dr. Mata was awarded an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Chief Scientist.

During her tenure as an AAAS Fellow and later as the USDA Partnership Coordinator for the U.S. Pollinator Health Task Force, Dr. Mata worked on several major initiatives to protect wildlife, build climate resilience, and enhance food security. In 2016, she joined the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research as a Scientific Program Director, and continued through 2017 as a consultant, managing a grant portfolio that spanned education, conservation, and plant health with an aim of finding evidence-based, practical solutions to challenges in food and agriculture.

In 2017, Dr. Mata accepted a position as Director of Strategic Engagement for The Nature Conservancy and the Great Lakes Commission's Blue Accounting Initiative, where she led an external affairs team to promote collaborative, data-informed management of water resources across the eight states, two provinces, and two countries in the Great Lakes Basin. In 2021, she joined the California Department of Water Resources as an Environmental Program Manager supporting the sound management of native and endangered species impacted by the State Water Project, and in 2022 she was promoted to the position of Director of the Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (OEFI) at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. OEFI leads California's efforts in reducing livestock methane emissions, promoting healthy soils, and reducing agricultural water and energy use. Dr. Mata received her B.A. in Biology from Pomona College and her Ph.D. in Ecology from UC Davis.