Arthur is the CEO of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, located in Jamestown, NY. Prior to this appointment, he served the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation for more than 25 years, most recently as its Chicago Program Director, in which capacity he worked hand-in-glove with a large portfolio of conservation, arts, and museum groups with an emphasis on helping them to build the operational and financial capacities they need to achieve their mission goals.

Arthur is the author of Force of Nature, the award-winning biography of George Fell, father of the Natural Areas Movement and a driving force in the founding of The Nature Conservancy, the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, the Natural Land Institute, and the Natural Areas Association.