Public Lands Policy Director
Conservation Lands Foundation
Kara Matsumoto is the Public Lands Policy Director at the Conservation Lands Foundation, where she develops and leads policy initiatives to protect and enhance federal public lands. She holds undergraduate and master's degrees in interdisciplinary environmental science and natural resources policy from Stanford University. Previously, Kara championed climate and public lands campaigns with The Wilderness Society. Kara contributes to conservation and equity initiatives in Colorado, her home base the past 5 years: she works with the Next 100 Colorado coalition to make public lands more inclusive; she serves as the vice chair of the board of directors for local Denver area nonprofit Environmental Learning for Kids; and she is an adjunct faculty member in the Environmental Policy and Management program at the University of Denver's University College. In her free time, Kara enjoys traveling, skiing, mountain biking, knitting, and aerial silks.