Rebecca Wodder

Rebecca Wodder (Fairfax, Virginia) is a nationally known environmental leader whose career in conservation began with the first Earth Day. She currently serves as the vice chair of the Nelson Institute Board of Visitors.

As president of the national river advocacy organization, American Rivers, from 1995 to 2011, she led the development of community-based solutions to freshwater challenges. From 2011 to 2013, she served as senior advisor to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Previously, Wodder was a vice president at The Wilderness Society, and a legislative assistant to Senator Gaylord Nelson for environmental and energy issues. In 2010, she was named a Top 25 Outstanding Conservationists by Outdoor Life Magazine. In 2014, she received the James Compton Award from River Network.

As a fellow with the Center for Humans and Nature, Wodder explores how communities enhance their resilience to climate impacts via sustainable approaches to rivers and freshwater resources. She serves on the boards of River Network, the Potomac Conservancy, and is a member of the advisory council of Marstel-Day. She is currently chairing the River Network board.

Wodder earned a BA in biology and in environmental studies from the University of Kansas, and an MS in landscape architecture and in water resources management from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.