Wendy Mathews joined TNC in 1992 and is currently the Senior Conservation Projects Officer in the Landcare Department. In this role, Wendy is responsible for supporting the implementation of TNC’s land care work in Florida, including conservation real estate transactions and identifying new projects that further TNC’s mission, as well as managing the TNC’s panther project in Florida.
Wendy spent her career at TNC as an ecologist with the Department of Land Protection working to protect the best of Florida’s natural and agricultural landscapes. By working with various organizations and agencies, such as the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Florida Forever Program of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, she has helped conserve several hundred thousand acres statewide.
Wendy negotiates complicated real estate transactions on behalf of TNC, state and federal partners. In 2001, Wendy took over the management of TNC’s conservation easements program in Florida, which includes the preparation of conservation easement documents, negotiation and annual monitoring of TNC’s 50 conservation easements statewide. , which total about 40,000 acres. Recently, Wendy has been involved with Florida Panther Corridor work in South Central Florida to help create wildlife corridors and connected landscapes for successful migration of Florida Panthers across the Caloosahatchee River.
