ABOUT MATT TENNIS
I was elected to the Chico Unified Board of Trustees (School Board) in 2020, and I am the only board member who is not a current or former school employee. My four children are all enrolled at Chico Unified schools.
Born and raised in Chico, I grew up attending Parkview Elementary, Chico Junior, and Chico High. I was actually a student at Parkview the year we got our mascot and became “Home of the Panthers.” As a young student I was a bit of a daydreamer and squirmed in my seat a lot. Later in Jr. High and High School I competed on the Chico High Ski Team.
After graduating from Chico High in 1991 I attended Chico State, where I ultimately graduated with a BA in Speech Communication in 1995. I spent my Junior year in college abroad, studying for one year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where I studied Hebrew Language, Middle-Eastern politics and Middle-Eastern history. That year was very formative for me, allowing many opportunities to expand my personal horizons and see the world.
I am now a 3rd generation farmer who uses a shovel and many other tools and machines on an almost daily basis. I also in the past few years obtained my most impressive post-graduate credential, which was surprisingly difficult to obtain – A Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), which means I drive big rigs!
I now live near downtown Chico with my lovely wife and our four beautiful children. I serve as Vice Chair of the Butte County Water Commission and am on the County Farm Bureau Board of Directors. I’m very proud to serve on the Governing Board of the Chico Unified School District, and help shape our collective future through the powerful tool of education on the local level.
