Matt Watson is the founder of Watson Public Strategies LLC, which provides public affairs and strategic consulting services to energy-sector stakeholders, including environmental NGOs, philanthropy, multilateral institutions and forward-leaning industry initiatives focused on climate solutions.
Matt previously served as Vice President for Energy Transition for the Environmental Defense Fund, where he worked from 2009-2024 on a broad range of climate/energy issues. From 2018-2024 he led EDF’s global methane advocacy campaign, where he set broad strategy and managed teams of policy experts, scientists and analysts, regulatory attorneys and communications professionals working in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Matt also acted as a primary contact for key stakeholders in business, government, civil society and the media.
Before joining EDF, Matt worked in a variety of roles at the state and local levels in Texas, often for elected officials, across a range of energy and environmental issues – including climate policy, water management, the power sector, land use and transportation. Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in Law and Society from the University of California Santa Barbara and a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.