"It's a very exciting time to be part of the Maori agribusiness scene as iwi across the country work through their respective Treaty settlements with the Crown, we're seeing a significant number of assets coming back into Maori ownership, which presents a very real opportunity for our rangatahi Maori."
Mr Matthews works closely with Maori organisations, including iwi and Maori schools, to identify their agricultural training and agricultural human resource development needs, and discuss how the university can help to meet these needs.
An example was Whenua Kura, a partnership between Ngai Tahu Farms, Te Tapuae o Rehua and Lincoln University, to grow Maori leadership in agriculture by training cadets on Ngai Tahu-owned farms.
"We want our rangatahi Maori to set their sights higher to become farm managers and supervisors, to gain a true sense of their potential and ability to be leaders within the agricultural industry," Mr Matthews said.
Born and raised in Masterton, he grew up in the te kohanga reo (Maori language nest) and kura kaupapa Maori (Maori language total immersion school) movements and is a fluent speaker of te reo Maori.
"I love my culture and my language. It defines a big part of who I am as a person, and this is where my passion stems from."
Mr Matthews lived in Japan for several years as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and is fluent in Japanese.
Prior to his role at Lincoln, he worked for Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre, Masterton, as Maori agri-business coordinator, working with iwi and Maori schools to co-ordinate collaboration and training for Maori students.
Earlier, he worked for NZQA, as an international policy adviser, and Education New Zealand, as a liaison adviser for international education. He has a double degree in international business and Japanese language from AUT University.
