Mr. Matthew P. Moeller – Albemarle, NC
Currently Chair of the Pfeiffer University Board of Trustees, Matt Moeller has had a distinguished career in business, the occupational and environmental sciences and in a volunteer capacity for numerous charitable organizations and worthy causes.
Matt received an AB in Mathematics from Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences (1980) and an MS in Environmental Health Sciences (Radiological Health) from Harvard University’s School of Public Health (1984). Matt is certified by the American Board of Health Physics and was named a Fellow of the Health Physics Society.
Matt began his career in safety and radiation protection at Battelle’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratories and later was employed by Science Applications International Corporation (now Leidos). In 1994, he founded Dade Moeller & Associates, named to honor his father who had recently retired as a Dean at Harvard University.
As President, CEO and Board Chair, Matt grew the company to become one of the nation’s leading occupational and environmental sciences firms with over 300 employees and gross revenues over $50M by 2012. In 2016, the company sold to NV5 Global where Matt supported major company acquisitions until 2019.
Growing up in Bedford, Massachusetts, Matt was raised a New Englander by two southern parents who were children of the Great Depression. His first job was delivering four afternoon newspapers when he was five years old. With three older brothers and a younger sister, he played almost every sport when not mowing lawns or painting houses in their neighborhood. Matt’s favorite pastime was playing ice hockey on the nearby ponds. At Bedford High School, Matt excelled at both hockey and soccer, the latter of which he played at Cornell University where he was a member of the nationally-ranked 1977 Ivy League Championship Team that lost to the eventual national champion in the NCAA Division I playoffs. Matt played alongside several All-Americans and other All-America nominees.
While living in southeast Washington State for over 37 years, Matt became an avid mountain climber summiting numerous peaks in the northwest. He led successful climbs on Mt Rainier, Mt Hood, Mt Adams, Mt Stuart and Colchuck Peak among others. In 1996, Matt trekked in the Khumbu (Everest) region of Nepal where he crossed Cho La Pass (17,782’) and summitted Gokyo Ri (17,575’), Kala Patthar (18,519’) and Imja Tse (20,305’).
Locally, Matt is a member of the First Presbyterian Church Albemarle. Along with his wife Catherine, they have been active in programs for youth and congregational care. They have taught a weekly Bible Study group since the outbreak of Covid. They worked together on the Steering Committee for Cheers for Charity, a nonprofit fundraising organization supporting Christian Ministries and Homes of Hope in Stanly County. For 3 seasons (2017-2019), Matt coached the Albemarle High School Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team, which made the North Carolina State playoffs in two of those seasons. In 2018, Matt was named a NC Regional Coach of the Year. Impacted by the experience, the Moellers established a scholarship in 2020 for Hispanic and African-American students through their church.
Matt has provided leadership and management experience as a member of the Board of Directors for numerous non-profit and academic entities. While in Washington, he has served the Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton & Franklin Counties and the United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties. He served as the Alexis de Tocqueville Society campaign chair for United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties for years. Nationally, Matt served on the Advisory Board for the Illinois Institute of Technology and as a member of the Harvard Graduate School of Design Advisory Board for Sustainable Infrastructure. Matt served the Harvard University Office of Admissions as an interviewer of undergraduate applicants. He has also served on the Board and as Treasurer for their local homeowners association.
In 2009, Matt was the recipient of the Leader of the Year Award from the National Management Association in recognition of his service in business and community. In 2015, Matt received the prestigious North Star Award from the Boys Scouts of America (Blue Mountain Council, National Court of Honor) in recognition of his distinguished service to youth; the award is given to an individual without affiliation with the Boy Scouts who represents their values and commitment to supporting the community.
Professionally, Matt has been an active member of the Health Physics Society (HPS) serving as a member of the Board of Directors and as Parliamentarian. He has served on four national committees: the Publications Committee; two terms on the Strategic Planning Committee; the Summer School Committee; and the Rules Committee. Entering graduate school, he received an HPS Graduate Fellowship (1982). While in Washington, Matt belonged to the Columbia Chapter of the HPS where he was recognized as the Chapter’s Health Physicist of the Year (1992). He later served as Chair of the Chapter’s Awards Committee. Matt also served as Chair of the Herbert M. Parker Foundation, a nonprofit organization affiliated with Washington State University that sponsors public lectures and provides scholarships to students in health physics and environmental sciences.
Matt is a Diplomat of the American Academy of Health Physics (AAHP), which he served as Chair of the Professional Development Committee (1997-2001). He has also served in support of the professional certification testing program; chosen to be a member of the AAHP Part I point passing determination (1994).
Matt has more than 40 peer-reviewed publications. He authored a chapter on “Radiation” for inclusion in the textbook Environmental Health by Dean Howard Frumkin, University of Washington School of Public Health. He has been an invited speaker at numerous conferences and symposia including those of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement and the Small Business Administration.
Matt and Catherine have had a home in Albemarle since 2011 and are residents on Amelia Island, Florida. Their older daughter is a practicing architect in Washington and their younger daughter is a professional ballet dancer in Rhode Island.