MAT DOS SANTOS

Mat leads our organizational work, including the development of a robust, high-functioning administrative support team and strategic, brand-driven engagement campaigns to secure a stable financial future. Mat will lead legal compliance and risk management, and oversee finance, operations, and development. They will continue to bring their excellent impact litigation strategic thinking gained over the nearly 20 years of experience they have litigating high profile cases on behalf of historically oppressed communities as well as Fortune 500 companies.  

As legal director of the ACLU of Oregon, Mat worked on a variety of civil right issues including freedom of speech, student’s rights, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, and criminal justice reform. Mat routinely appeared in national and state media to comment on issues of constitutional law and civil rights. During their tenure, Mat was recognized as a “Best LGBT Lawyer Under 40” by the National LGBT Bar Association (2016), and received the Oregon Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Association Award of Merit (2017), Richard M. Ginsburg Outstanding Leadership for Immigrant Rights Award from the American Immigrant Lawyers Association of Oregon (2017), and the Aguila Award from Latino Network in recognition of extraordinary contributions and commitment to ensuring a thriving Latinx community in Oregon (2018).  

Prior to their work at the ACLU, Mat managed litigation and information risk management for a global pharmaceutical company where they oversaw all aspects of commercial litigation. Mat began their career with 6+ years at Morrison & Foerster working on all aspects of patent and securities litigation and was recognized for their contributions in life sciences and technology, writing for PharmaExec.com and speaking at the ABA Life Sciences Legal Summit.  

Mat received an Angel Award from California Lawyer in 2008 for their deep commitment to pro bono work relating to a precedent setting case brought on behalf of transgender prisoners seeking gender affirming care in Idaho’s Department of Corrections. Prior to law school, Mat worked as a biologist and conducted environmental impact assessments and endangered species surveys for power clients throughout the west.  

They are on the board of the Chosen Family Law Center, Latino Network, and served on the board of the Transgender Law Center for 10+ years. Mat received their JD from Cornell Law School and BS in Biology from UC Irvine.