Interviewed by Laura Kindsvater, Stewardship & Outreach Intern
About Matthew
How long have you lived in the Bay Area?
23 years now. I first started off with Berkeley. Then I moved to Hayward, Oakland, and back to Berkeley, and now I’m in Concord.
How did you learn about Save Mount Diablo?
I heard about Save Mount Diablo on the Helpnow.org site. I remember the volunteer coordinator was named Kelly Stiener.
What did you do before you volunteered for us?
I had done a lot of traveling, including in Europe, Asia, and Costa Rica.
How long have you been volunteering with us?
Five years now.
Why did you decide to join our team?
I am really into the environment and love Mount Diablo State Park. I wanted to learn more about how we can Save Mount Diablo, and I’m loving it here.
About Matthew’s Work
Which program(s) are you affiliated with? (DiRT, IPM, Trail Dogs, property steward, fundraising, office work, etc.)?
Office work. I first started out with event coordinating and digital scanning, which was a project to put old magazines into the computer and into a spreadsheet.
What does your volunteer work consist of and what do you like about it?
Currently I am working on a state charitable registration spreadsheet, which is updating our annual filing methods, attorney general office contacts, and links to support our next filing. What I like about this project is learning about multi-state solicitation requirements.
What is the hardest project you’ve worked on while volunteering?
I must say working on the Moonlight on the Mountain data. I worked on a spreadsheet for two years, putting donors’ information into one spreadsheet instead of separate files year by year.
What is one of your favorite memories volunteering with us?
Helping staff members and volunteers with the Moonlight on the Mountain festival. It is such much fun gathering items to be sent to the Moonlight site.
