Matthew Fienup, Ph.D.

Since its inception in 2014, Matthew has been integral to the design and implementation of the Fox Canyon Water Market, the first groundwater market to be implemented in California under SGMA. Matthew led grassroots outreach among growers before being chosen to chair the Fox Canyon Water Market Group, a formal stakeholder group chartered by the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency (FCGMA) to design the rules, structures, and operating mechanisms for a water market to be implemented under the basins’ Groundwater Sustainability Plans. Matthew was subsequently chosen by FCGMA to serve as exchange administrator for the Fox Canyon Water Market, a role that he reprised for 5 years.

Matthew is Project Director for the Latino GDP Project, an ambitious multi-disciplinary research initiative which seeks to document the large and rapidly growing economic contribution of Latinos living in the United States. Matthew coordinates a team of researchers at CERF and at UCLA who calculate Latino Gross Domestic Product (GDP) using a bottom-up construction that leverages publicly available data from major U.S. agencies. The Latino GDP research has been presented live to more than 15,000 people in ten different states and the District of Columbia, including to the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress and to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The research has been covered in more than 700 separate features across print, digital and broadcast media, including the The Associated Press, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch, Washington Post, Forbes, NBC News, CNBC, the Hill, LA Times, Univision and Telemundo. In addition, a wide range of leaders in business, entertainment and politics have commented publicly on the research and its implications, including: the CEOs of Dow Jones Co., Disney, Nike, Target, Home Depot, and Bank of America; songwriter and playright, Lin Manuel Miranda; Federal Reserve Vice Chair, Lael Brainard; former President Joe Biden; and former President Barack Obama.  

Matthew returned to school to pursue his PhD after running a small business in Ventura County for more than a decade. His other specialties include California Natural History, technical rock climbing and photography. Matthew graduated summa cum laude from the Brooks Institute of Photography and has spent more than 15 years working as a professional climbing guide.