Diane Matar, Fellow, Science Philanthropy Alliance
Diane Matar joined the Science Philanthropy Alliance in July 2020 as an advising fellow on climate, oceans and physical sciences. In her current role, Matar supports the science and leadership teams in advising emerging and current philanthropists on how to most effectively support basic scientific research. Matar has solid experience in interdisciplinary scientific research, and has worked in strategy and fundraising, monitoring evaluation and learning, and science advisory roles, in non-profits as well as academic settings. She has served as Chair of the California Expert Assessment Group for the Marine Protected Areas Green List.
Prior to joining the Alliance, she was a postdoctoral scholar in Nicole Ardoin's Social Ecology Lab at Stanford University. As part of her postdoc work, Matar helped oversee the Summen (Redwoods) project, which studies people’s attitudes toward climate change, and explores how hopeful messaging may influence climate action. She was also a guest lecturer on conservation and marine protected areas topics at Stanford University. Her PhD research focused on improving protected areas management effectiveness and evaluation in the Mediterranean and Middle East regions.
Prior to obtaining her PhD in environmental sciences and policy at the Central European University in Budapest, Matar received an M.S. in environmental science policy and management from the University of Manchester, and a B.S. in public health from the American University of Beirut.