Ibrahim Abdul-Matin appointed director of Living Future Institute

NEW YORK,NY– The International Living Future Institute recently announced that Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Director of Community Affairs at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, has been appointed to the Institute’s Board of Directors. Abdul-Matin works to make sure that New York City residents have a responsive government that helps bring water to their homes and takes their wastewater away. He’s also a powerful advocate for the idea that diverse perspectives are necessary to grow the environmental movement.

“Ibrahim brings a unique perspective to our Board,” said Amanda Sturgeon, Institute Executive Director and incoming CEO. “He is an experienced policy maker who works in one of the most complicated and densely populated metropolitan areas in the world. We need more people who think like Ibrahim if we are to create a socially just and culturally rich future.”

“My intention is to bring a lens of faith, equity, imagination and courage to the Institute’s Board and community,” said Abdul-Matin. “Humanity is making the transition from a world rooted in domination and extraction toward a world rooted in regeneration and interdependence—the International Living Future Institute is crucial for this transition. I’d like to push our thinking about what we make, how we make things, how we exchange things, how we care for each other and ourselves, and how we share the benefits of our labor.”

Abdul-Matin’s work has influenced the public and private sector during his service as the sustainability policy advisor to Mayor Bloomberg, and in his current role as the Director of Community Affairs at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. Ibrahim has been covered by Al Jazeera, FOX News and ABC News, and his writings can be found in many publications including The Washington Post, CNN.com, the Muslim Observer and more. His book, Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet, is a one-of-a-kind exploration about the positive contributions of people of faith to the environmental movement. He holds numerous awards including the National Urban Fellow (2008), Green for All Fellow (2009), and most recently was named one of the 40 Under 40 Rising Stars in New York City Politics from City & State Magazine (2015).