Sean Mattson

Sean Mattson began his journalism career in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1999. He worked for several media outlets, including The Guadalajara Reporter, and was the San Antonio Express-News’s last correspondent in Mexico. In 2008, he joined Thomson Reuters as a correspondent covering Panama and Central America. Mattson reported on Mexico’s incipient drug war in the early 2000s, the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster in 2006, the 2009 coup in Honduras, human rights violations, several elections, hurricanes, and economic trends and indicators. His freelance work appeared in international publications and newspapers in the United States and Canada.

In 2012, Mattson joined the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, where he interviewed and photographed hundreds of scientists researching tropical ecosystems—from forest canopies and tropical forests to mangroves and coral reefs. He also served as a scientific diver and underwater photographer.

In 2018, Mattson became Global Communications Officer for the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. Based in Cali, Colombia, he develops and implements communication strategies, shares scientific advances, writes and edits, and leads workshops for scientists and communications professionals. His work has taken him to countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Latin America.