Our Staff

Matthew "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.

Telephone:

Email: [email protected]

Jennifer Carr

Director of Restoration

Jennifer graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Geography and a minor in Environmental Science. After graduation, she worked for an AmeriCorps non-profit in Baltimore, interned with the International Rescue Committee and taught in a rural village in Serbia. After returning home, Jennifer joined the Federation in 2011 as a one year Chesapeake Conservation Corps Member funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust. The Federation hired her in 2012 and she has worked at a variety of positions, including coordinating volunteers, event planning and acted as the unofficial IT officer. She found her niche in Restoration and worked her way from an assistant to Director of Restoration.

Telephone:

Email: [email protected]g

Elle Bassett

South, West and Rhode Riverkeeper

An Anne Arundel native, Elle graduated from Washington College with a degree in Environmental Studies and a concentration in Chesapeake Regional Studies. After graduation, she worked for ShoreRivers (then Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy) as a one year Chesapeake Conservation Corps member funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

She then was hired and worked for ShoreRivers for the following decade in a variety of positions, including education and outreach coordinator and the Miles-Wye Riverkeeper from 2018-2022. She achieved her masters in Environmental Education in 2017 and has experience in environmental restoration, volunteer coordination, water quality monitoring, oyster restoration, county and state policy, and more. Elle returned to her home waterways and joined the Arundel Rivers team in fall of 2022 as the South, West, and Rhode Riverkeeper.

Telephone:

Email: [email protected]

Mallory Box

Field Technician

After spending 13 years in the US Navy, Mallory transitioned to civilian life in 2022. She was an intern with Arundel Rivers under the DoD SkillBridge program and eventually hired on as the Field Technician. She assists the Riverkeeper with the water quality monitoring program and the Director of Restoration with the restoration program. She is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University where she is part of the MS in Environmental Sciences and Policy degree program and is also earning a certificate in GIS.

Telephone:

Email: [email protected]

Taylor Stark

Development and Communications Contractor

Taylor Stark is a recent graduate from the University of Maryland, College Park with a double major in Communication and Geographic Information Systems. Previously, Taylor interned for the Mattawoman Watershed Society, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, the Choose Clean Water Coalition and the National Wildlife Federation.

Taylor spent most of her childhood at her family cottage on Herring Bay, which is part of Arundel Rivers Federation’s southern jurisdiction. She’s pleased to work for an organization that supports these important local waterways.

Telephone:

Email: [email protected]