Matthew has worked for the Xerces Society for more than 25 years, initially at the vanguard of a new movement to protect pollinators, but also on endangered species, pesticide reduction, and a range of other issues, including several years leading Xerces' communications work. Throughout this time, he maintained a direct involvement in pollinator conservation, and helped move it from an obscure issue to a topic of dinner-table conversation and wide engagement.
In his current role, Matthew is able to focus on what he enjoys the most, helping people connect with their environment and take steps to protect wildlife. This includes supporting neighborhood-level efforts such as pollinator gardens and other small habitat projects, guiding the Bring Back the Pollinators campaign, promoting initiatives such as Leave the Leaves, and supporting coworkers coordinating the Bee City / Campus USA program and Xerces' volunteer outreach ambassadors. He cohosts Xerces' podcast, Bug Banter.
Matthew is author of numerous articles and other publications, including Attracting Native Pollinators (Storey Publishing, 2011) and Gardening for Butterflies (Timber Press, 2016). He also is the long-time editor of Wings, the Xerces Society’s magazine, and oversees the organization's extensive library of fact sheets, reports, plant lists, and more.
Matthew’s four-decade conservation career began in England and took him to Kenya before his arrival in the United States. After completing a master's of science in land resource management, Matthew managed National Trust lands in Oxfordshire, established a successful community-based conservation program in Essex, and helped to create Samphire Hoe, an award-winning nature park at the foot of the White Cliffs of Dover. During a VSO placement in Kenya, he worked with local communities and government agencies to improve the management of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, on the coast north of Mombasa.
It was in Kenya that he met a Peace Corps volunteer—who is the reason he moved to Oregon. They live on the west side of the Portland metro region. Their two children are now grown up (one beginning a career in public education, the other in their final year of college), but they still get together—although sometimes they roll their eyes when Matthew points out yet another super-cool insect that he found.
