Matt was born in Anchorage, Alaska, but he's not "Alaska grown". He grew up an airline brat, so he moved around a lot, though mostly in Seattle, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia. He spent his college years as a Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech, but he's not an engineer. His degree in International affairs provided unique opportunities for him to visit Argentina and Cuba. Post-graduation, he spent a year as a volunteer with Ameri-Corps in the Texas border region in Brownsville.
After a year of honorable service to our country and surviving on food stamps, he was accepted to the University of Oregon for law school. During his summer internships, he rediscovered Alaska and moved to Anchorage after graduation in 2007. He officially became a lawyer after passing the Alaska bar exam in February 2008. In his legal career, he has worked for Public Defense offices and private offices in Alaska and Oregon, and in Washington, D.C. was contracted by the Dept of Justice for litigation support.
His main interests include:
Travel: Internationally- He has been to England, Scotland, Wales, Austria, Germany, former Czechoslovakia, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Cuba, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and of course, most recently, Belize and Guatemala. He hasn't been to Asia or Africa but would love to visit Kenya, Japan, South Africa, and India. Locally- He's been to 44 of the 50 states.
Hiking, running, and enjoying the outdoors
Sports: He watches entirely way too many sporting events. He follows GA Tech and UO sports religiously, the Mariners, the Nationals, the Seahawks, soccer and mostly recently has joined the the Portland Timbers bandwagon, and even some tennis.
Beer brewing: This is a new favorite hobby. Not sure I am up to the challenge of making beer in Hood River (most breweries per capita in Oregon, which has more breweries per capita than any state in the country).