Meet Our Team!
In order to provide some insight into who we are as Council Staff, and inform about what we do to assist the Council with managing the federal fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, we hope you enjoy our first “Meet Our Team” blog article below. We will be highlighting each of our team members periodically in the months ahead. Stay tuned!
Get to know: Jessica Matos
What is your position as a Council Staff member?
I am an Administrative Assistant and Document Editor. Prior to working at the Council I was an elementary school teacher for 9 years.
How long have you been a Council Staff member?
I started at the Council in August of 2016.
What are some of your daily responsibilities in your position?
I support the tech staff as they need it, including amendment formatting and copy editing as amendments go final. I organize and process everyone’s travel expense reports and assist the Meeting Planner in travel planning. I am the woman behind the curtain at SSC meetings and assist online and off line at Council meetings and AP meetings. Along with 3 other staff members I help manage our Gulf Council website and archive. I also work with the Communications team and manage our public comments that comes in.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy working with our staff the most, we have the best group of people to work with. I like the challenges of running meetings and keeping things organized to keep the flow going. I also like using my teacher brain to edit documents and herd cats.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
When I am not working you will find my face buried in a book. I love reading and learning new things, last year I read over 130 books! Traveling is a favorite of mine, which is starting to ramp back up finally. I enjoy spending time with my husband, Matt and dog, Lily, traveling with them is the best. I have a goal of visiting every park in the National Parks System to fill up my Parks Passport with stamps. I am at 86 of over 400 parks, with plans to check 7 off the list in the next few months. Slow and steady wins the race! I would also like to visit all 50 states, I have visited 32, 18 left to go and have visited 17 countries. I also love the water so boating, swimming, and reading by the pool is also a favorite pastime.
What is one of your most memorable experiences as a Council Staff member (or working with the Council)?
One of my memories working with the Council was we had a Texas Council meeting that we shipped our big crates out, like 15, and we were informed that FedEx had lost 2 and they had no idea where they were. Needless to say we are much more particular now in our packing and list EVERYTHING we pack in each crate and try not to pack all of one item in a crate so we aren’t short all our power cords *cough cough*, that way we can figure out what we are missing and what we need to replace. Luckily the crates showed up, day 3 of the meeting, but at least they were found. Packing the van and/or shipping crates for Council meetings are always memorable!
