John Mankowski, MSc

John Mankowski serves as vice president for KAI’s community and environmental resilience team, bringing more than 35 years of experience in natural resource policy. His expertise spans environmental policy, strategic planning, project management, grant-making, and performance evaluation. John specializes in landscape conservation, climate-related policy and adaptation, fish and wildlife management, water resources, and tribal and First Nations’ engagement. John is adept at coalition-building, leading organizational change, and fostering collaboration with tribal nations and underserved communities. He is trained in facilitation, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Before joining KAI, John consulted on climate resilience, permitting, and conservation strategy projects, and has served as a guest instructor for graduate-level conservation courses. His career also includes significant leadership in government policy, overseeing initiatives in natural resource management, tribal relations, and conservation planning. He has led large-scale collaborative conservation efforts across U.S. and Canadian territories, managing multi-stakeholder partnerships to address environmental and resource management challenges. John earned his master of science degree in wildlife resources management from the University of Idaho and also holds a bachelor of science degree in renewable natural resources and wildlife ecology from the University of Arizona.