User:Wilson De Matos

Early Life
Wilson Keller de Matos was born in Campinas, São Paulo Brazil on June 2, 1978. He is the son of Elizabeth Keller de Matos and Wilson Pereira de Matos. He grew up in Campinas, SP. Having been raised as a middle-class Brazilian for a vast majority of his childhood he was able to attend private school. For a brief time, due to family struggles he was forced to attend public school. But his mother always made education a top priority, so in high school she made sure to send him to a private school called IASP (instituto Adventista de Sao Paulo) located in Hortolandia, SP. He was afforded the opportunity to study abroad in a partner school in Chicago. He came to study in the US with a student Visa.

Upper Level Education
After completing high school in Chicago Wilson went to study at UDC (The University of the District of Columbia). Where he obtained a bachelor’s in civil engineering. He paid his way through college with a scholarship he was awarded for playing soccer on the Universities team. Today Wilson pays forward the help he received, by having a scholarship fund named after his mother, that helps low income students be able to afford attending college.

Professional Career
After graduating from college Wilson became a project manager for a granite company located out of Beltsville, MD. He began further developing his construction skills and learned hands on experience on how to do estimates and project management. He later went to work for a general contractor company based in DC, where he learned how to work with local and state governments on school renovation. After many years of experience and learning he and his brother Wilton Keller de Matos co-founded their own general construction company called WKM Solutions. The company is now going into its eight year and has demonstrated continuous growth and expansion. The company has a Washington D.C. office run by Wilton and a Campinas office run by Wilson.

Family Life
Wilson had his first son at the young age of 18. His oldest son is Willian Keller de Matos (Born: 09/19/1996), whose mother is Eliana Santos a girlfriend Wilson had when in high school. In college Wilson met Mariana Herdy who would go to become Wilson’s first wife, and the mother of Wilson second son Matthew Herdy de Matos (Born: 09/30/2006). His mother was a hospital pharmacist who at one point in her career was responsible for supplying all 13 public hospitals of the state of Sergipe with hospital supplies and medication. She passed away on November 15,2018 from Pancreatic Cancer.

Melhora Campinas
After many trips back and forth between Brazil and the US, Wilson has decided that he wants the people of the city he grew up in to have a better quality of life. He wants them to have the same opportunities that he was given. So, he founded a movement called “Melhora Campinas” which has the intention of bringing the city’s biggest issue to light, so that they can be debated on and fixed. The movement is derived from President Barack Obamas first presidential campaign slogan “change”. He hopes to work closely with the population of Campinas to bring about a positive change to the city that was once an exemplary city to the county. He hopes to restore the city’s glory by placing great emphasis in education. He believes that education is the backbone of society. With more education people will commit less crimes, the economy will grow, new jobs will open up, and the city will improve in every way in the long-run.