Paul W. Mattessich, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of Wilder Research, which is one of the largest, nonpartisan research organizations in the United States dedicated to studying the effectiveness of human service, public health, and education programs and supporting their improvement through evaluation, assessment, and research.

Dr. Mattessich has authored more than 300 publications, including four books on the topics of managing program evaluation to measure impacts and improve effectiveness; making nonprofit collaboration successful; and building the social capacity of communities. He frequently lectures on trends that influence communities’ quality of life, and he led the development of Minnesota Compass, an award-winning, web-based social indicators project supported by a consortium of funders, in which Wilder serves as the lead organization.

He has over 30 years of experience in nonprofit, government, and academic sectors working on issues related to program effectiveness and social policy at the federal, state, and local levels; and has served on numerous special task forces and nonprofit boards. Current appointments include: Hamm Clinic, Minnesota Community Measurement, University of Minnesota Community Oversight Board, Generation Next (an education reform organization), Park Square Theater, and tpt’s (public television) Community Advisory Council.

Dr. Mattessich holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Minnesota and an undergraduate degree from New York University.