The Michael Scott Mater Foundation was founded in 2008 by veterans who believe the key to affecting change is to build the capacity of individuals and empower them to improve and take control of their lives. The organization is founded on the principals of empowerment steeped in education and opportunity, ideas that personify the legacy of the late Michael Scott Mater.
Our Vision: To create sustainable communities around the globe. Our initiatives focus on empowering individuals with the tools and education they need to help themselves.
Our Mission: To create opportunities for individuals and communities by providing financial resources, work-force training, cross cultural exchanges, and sustainable solutions to real world challenges.
MSMF began with a text book drive in 2007. After an Iraq university was partially decimated, Mr. Joshua Mater organized a text book drive with Oregon State University. This project provided $30,000 in textbooks for Iraqi students. Through this project, Mr. Joshua Mater and Mr. Jesus Quispe founded MSMF in response to an identified need for sustainable education and community development for the nation of Iraq. In 2009, MSMF expanded it's community devlopment work globally, opening offices in Peru in 2009 and in 2010 opened offices in Charlotte, NC (current headquarters). MSMF is N.C. registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Michael "Scott" Mater
Michael "Scott" Mater was born in Corvallis, Oregon where he resided for the rest of his life. He graduated from Oregon State University in 1971 and followed in his father’s footsteps with a commission in the U.S. Army. Upon returning from active duty, Scott joined the family engineering firm as director of forest products engineering projects.
He worked side-by-side with his father, his mother Jean, and his wife Catherine—all professionals in the forest products industry. He received his Professional Engineer (PE) license in mechanical engineering from the State of Oregon in 1971, quite by chance receiving the same PE license number his father was issued when he received his PE in mechanical engineering in the 1940s. Scott subsequently received PE licenses from the States of Washington, Idaho, Arizona, and New Mexico. An expert in the forest products industry, his professional engineering career involved him in projects all over the world. His work focused on sustainable forestry development—finding ways to both sustain the earth’s resources and the communities that utilize forest resources. Scott’s passion for politics lead him to two terms on the Corvallis City Council from 1972-1975, including the council presidency in 1974. In 1975 he married fellow council member Catherine Galati, an OSU undergraduate at the time. They simultaneously served on the Corvallis City Council for several years. Scott’s other main interests focused on the Corvallis community and its children. He served in a leadership role in helping to shape the Corvallis Riverfront Park, which culminates at the Corvallis Skate Park that he designed for the community. Michael died at age 53 on December 23, 2002, of complications from a fast-growing cancer. He left behind not only the legacy of his family, but one of caring for his community and natural resources.
The Michael Scott Mater Foundation name honors Mr. Mater's legacy of service and sustainable community development.
Board of Directors
Joshua Mater, Founder & Board Chair is a past participant of the People to People Student Ambassador Program and the People To People Student Leadership forum as well as the National Youth Leadership Conference held in Washington D.C. He attended and graduated from Oregon State University with degrees in Geosciences and International Relations in 2002. During his sophomore year at OSU, Mr. Mater participated in an exchange program at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan where he lived with a host family and studied international relations and business from a Japanese perspective.
As member of the Oregon State University Reserve Officers Training Corps, Mr. Mater was sworn in as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army, serving in Air Defense Artillery. His first duty assignment was in Korea where he served two years as a Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer before returning to Fort Bliss, TX and attending the Captains Career Course. During the course, he applied for and was accepted into the Special Operations Forces Civil Affairs Branch which would bring him to Fort Bragg, NC. After completing his training, Mr. Mater served with the 98th Civil Affairs Battalion, 95th Civil Affairs Brigade.
A Purple Heart recipient from his tour during Operation Iraqi Freedom V, Mr. Mater helped the reconstruction effort in Southern Iraq by developing projects whose main focus was creating long term, sustainable jobs for the citizens in rural Iraq; the key component was tackling the inadequate or non-existent schools for primary, middle and high school aged students.
Jesus Quispe, Founder & Vice Chair currently works for the Department of State out of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Quispe held management and leadership positions within PBI Hospital, the U.S. Army, and Honeywell Technology Solutions Incorporated where he was responsible for the logistical operations, oversight, and accountability of goods valued at over $50 million.
Mr. Quispe participated in and organized numerous community activities to include the annual Peruvian Parade in New Jersey, which raises money and awareness to combat poverty in Peru as well as celebrate Peruvian heritage, and partnering with law enforcement and the medical community to help promote the awareness of drug prevention programs and anti-gang violence organizations through the NJRCPI. Additionally, Mr. Quispe conducted numerous campaigns with clubs and charitable organizations in New Jersey and New York, which helped raise funds for the LGBT community to promote HIV/AIDS awareness programs.
Mr. Quispe is a veteran of Operation Iraq Freedom IV and was recently awarded the prestigious 2011 National Image Meritorious Civilian Award by the Department of Defense.
Dr. Priscilla Selembo, Director, was born in Seville, Spain and grew up in Lima, Peru. After completing high school in Peru, she came to the United States to study Chemical Engineering at Lafayette College. She worked as a research scientist in coolants technology at Texaco Inc (Beacon, NY) and as a plant supervisor for chromatography separation products with Sigma-Aldrich (Bellefonte, PA). She recently completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering at Penn State University, focused on microbial electrolysis cells for hydrogen production.
Dr. Selembo is a founding member and President of ACTT Consulting, LLC which focuses on research and commercialization of renewable energy technologies. Dr. Selembo is a licensed Realtor® in North Carolina and South Carolina. She is a member of the Lafayette College Leadership Council. Dr. Selembo has four children and resides with her family in Charlotte, NC.
Fernando Ycaza, Director, was born in Ecuador. Mr. Ycaza obtained an Associates degree in science from Central Piedmont Community College, and a Bachelor's degree in business administration from Queens University. He has been with North Carolina Bank & Trust since 2005, where he currently serves as Vice President.
He loves soccer and is active in the community, volunteering with Boy Scouts of America and Queens University. He and his wife, Courtney, reside in Charlotte, N.C.
Jason Lackey, Director, was born in Shelby, North Carolina, and lived in western Lincoln County, North Carolina until 1993 when he left to attend the Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte. During his studies in Finance, he worked for Bank of America.
Upon graduation, Mr. Lackey accepted a position as Regional Sales Manager with a commercial finance company and relocated to Richmond, Virginia. When he returned to Charlotte in 1999, he worked with General Electric Commercial Finance, in commercial real estate finance, and then for Bank of America’s Business Banking division.
Lackey is currently a Vice President-Senior Relationship Manager with Wells Fargo’s Business Banking division supporting the Charlotte market.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from UNC Charlotte. He and his wife, Amy, reside in Lancaster County, South Carolina with their two children, Sophia and Jack.
Bert Woodard, Director, a native of Garner, N.C., joined Next Level Communications after serving as a vice president of public relations for Fyock & Associates in Winston-Salem, N.C., from April 2000 to January 2003. Prior to joining Fyock, Woodard was the managing editor for Carolina Blue newspaper in Charlotte for 10 years. His professional experience also includes serving as a public relations associate for Barron & Whitesell Public Relations/Marketing in Charlotte; associate public relations representative for Sports Marketing Enterprises, Inc., a subsidiary of RJR Nabisco, Inc. in Winston-Salem; assistant sports information director for Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem; and service bureau assistant for the Atlantic Coast Conference office in Greensboro. Woodard, who holds an M.A. in sports administration and a B.A. in journalism from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, served as President of the of the Charlotte Business Guild in 2007 and 2008. He currently serves on the board of directors for the LGBT Community Center of Charlotte.
Dr. Hal Markowitz, Director, (Ed.D. Columbia; MA, BA Florida) was Professor and Director of Distance Education at the University of Papua New Guinea, Director of Independent Study for the State University System of Florida, Assistant Professor of Continuing Education at Indiana University, and Director of Evaluation and Research at the USAF Extension Course Institute. He has lived in several countries, and he and his wife, Ann McDermott, have travelled extensively. His research has been both in the US and abroad, and he has presented and published throughout the US and internationally. Presently retired, he lives in Charlotte, NC.
Mark Carolla, Director, is a consulting instructor for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Training and Development Institute. In 2009 he joined Pierce, Pugliese, & Carolla Air Analytics, LLC a woman and veteran owned small business consulting firm specializing in the integration of best practices in customer service and security with airlines, railroads, mass transit, and the maritime sector. During the Vietnam Conflict Mark served as a Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Transportation Corps and has extensive transportation experience. In the Army Reserves., 1974-84 he served as a Captain, Military Intelligence Corps and served in the Naval Reserves 1984-1997 as a Naval Reserve Intelligence Officer and served in the Pentagon’s National Military Intelligence Center and as an Assistant Maritime Patrol Wing Intelligence Officer. A Latin American, German and Russian Area Studies specialist by academic background, Mark retired from the U.S. Defense Department with over three decades of analytical and leadership experience – much of it dealing with transportation issues - and as a diplomat. Mark also played a key advisory role in negotiations ending the Cold War and in the Middle East Peace Process. Mark received a B.A. cum laude, in History, including an honors program Winter Term in Russia, from Middlebury College in Vermont and an M.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. He also graduated from Inter-American Defense College, Washington, DC. and subsequently served there as an academic advisor on international aviation and environmental issues. He is a graduate of the Department of Defense Senior Executive Leadership Course; did Post-M.A. Studies in Russian Area Studies at Georgetown University and Graduate courses in Middle East Affairs at the Defense Intelligence College, Washington, D.C. Mark holds a Graduate Certificate with Distinction in Employment of Naval Forces, US Naval War College, 1984. He completed the Graduate Certificate of George Washington University’s, Graduate Program in Aviation Safety and Security. Mark’s academic and teaching experience has included rail operations, terrorism, border security, aviation, maritime and environmental issues at academic institutions in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Mark is fluent in Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and German, with basic professional proficiency in Russian. He is a prolific author and most recently has authored articles in Spanish on Airline security and operations for ALA – the magazine of the Latin American Aeronautical Association. He is an avid railroad and commercial airline fan, and military historian.
Staff Leadership
Amanda Breeden, Vice President /Ex Officio Board Member obtained M.A. degrees from the University of Northern Iowa in women’s and gender studies and non-profit administration. She received her B.A. from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in English. She served as an editor at both the University of Nebraska Press and the literary magazine Prairie Schooner, and was a columnist for a local newspaper.
She joined the nonprofit sector in 2005 as a programming officer at the Iowa Center for Immigrant Leadership & Integration. She has overseen development for the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a homeless shelter in Upstate New York, and a Community Action Agency. Ms. Breeden sits on the Board of Directors for the Charlotte Business Guild and Carolinas CARE Partnership.
Ms. Breeden was the winner of the Women’s & Gender Studies Graduate Paper Award was bestowed the honor of being selected as the 2007 Global Health Corp Scholar.
Zoila Silva, Vice President - Peru, was born and raised in Lima, holds degrees in business administration and leadership studies and has responsibility for all operational and administrative functions within MSMF in Peru. Zoila was called to service after the 8.0 earthquake that devastated Peru’s eastern coast in 2007. She worked with the National Civil Defense System and other NGOS to clean up and alleviate suffering after the quake. Zoila also participated in numerous campaigns and programs addressing domestic violence, child labor, human rights and improving education. She is deeply involved with the Pachacutec community and in 2008 was honored by the Mayor and School District as ‘The Voice of the People’.
Rosanna Saladin, PhDc, Green Microfinance Program Director, has over 9 years of experience in non-for-profit marketing, health and social programs’ management, entrepreneurial education and counseling. Ms. Saladin graduated with honors with a B.A. in marketing from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in Santo Domingo. She also obtained a M.A. in Commerce from Otaru University of Commerce in Japan.
She coordinated the entrepreneurship department at the Ibero-American University (UNIBE) and social marketing manager for Population Services International in Santo Domingo. Ms. Saladin has served as marketing manager and marketing consultant for several non-for-profit organizations programs in the United States and internationally.
For the past three years, Ms. Saladin has conducted research on entrepreneurial attitudes, norms, and behaviors affecting Hispanic entrepreneur’s success, as part of a PhD International Families and Communities from Clemson University.
Shari Tate, Cultural & Educational Exchange & Fellowship Director is an alum of UNC Greensboro and holds a B.A. in Communications. Ms. Tate is pursuing her master’s degree in International Studies with a focus in Nonprofit Management from North Carolina State University. To date, her graduate level research covers a range of focus including NGO’s, child protection law, and studies of world cultures and history through a lens of ethnolinguistic fractionalization.
Ms. Tate has more than eight years experience working with students and children of all ages, a lifetime practicing in the visual and performance arts, and has spent time studying abroad, an experience she draws on to empower youth to develop self and global awareness through intercultural and international exposure and exchange. Ms. Tate is a graduate of the MSMF Fellowship program.
