Matt Yelin ’11

Matt is originally from Seattle, Washington and as a lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest he knew that the region was his top pick for college. The beauty of the LC campus and its proximity to another of the great cities of the PNW sealed the deal for Matt. He majored in Physics and Math/Computer Science, and was constantly impressed with the care and the teaching skills on display in all three of those small but mighty departments.

A two-time captain of the swim team and co-chair of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee his senior year, athletics played a big role in Matt’s college journey. The support of his teammates and coaches, particularly Chris Fantz and Michael Miller made his experience on the swim team a highlight of his time at LC. He maintains a close friendship with Chris as well as many other alums who have stayed in the Portland area.

After graduation Matt started working at an environmental consulting firm working mainly on population models for salmon species. This model is used extensively by stakeholders when making important decisions about river restoration and infrastructure projects that can impact watersheds. Recently Matt has moved on to work on digital data infrastructure that will be used in Puerto Rico to aid in the recovery efforts following natural disasters, namely hurricanes.

Matt still lives in Portland where he enjoys running, swimming and biking, as well as photography, salsa and bachata dancing, and he is working on improving his woodworking skills both by teaching himself and learning from the very experienced folks at the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers.