Name: Matt Sandoval
Website: www.arthealsaz.org, mattsandoval.substack.com
Age: 51
Title: CEO, Art Heals Arizona
Married/Single: Married to Jama for 27 years
Kids: Two — Meadow (23) and Eric (20)
City you live in: Goodyear
A typical day in my life includes… some early exercise before the sun turns Phoenix into a griddle, a stretch of writing or reading across several topics, and a day that moves between program strategy, volunteer management, thought leadership, clinical frameworks, and supporting people who sit with young people whose stories the system would rather not hear.
I was born… in Phoenix to a family of 2nd generation Arizonans. My mother worked in health care and my father was a police officer.
My favorite thing about Arizona… the desert’s honesty. It doesn’t pretend to be soft even though it is beautiful. And the light at dusk that makes even a hard day look like it meant something.
I’m listening to… audio books and podcasts on social sciences and financial markets, classic and alternative rock, and classical piano when I need to think
My family… is Jama, Meadow, and Eric. My mother and sister live close by too.
If I could have dinner with anyone, it would be… Billy Mills — to say thank you to an Olympian who’s biographical movie produced a phrase my family has encouraged each other with on two generations – “time to fly, son”.
One thing I cannot live without… coke zero.
When I was younger, I wanted to be… someone who mattered to people who felt invisible. Turns out that was the plan all along; I just added the credentials to be effective at it.
I’m inspired by… the kids we serve — young people who keep showing up to create beauty inside systems that were supposed to protect them and often didn’t.
The person/people who motivate(s) me is/are… my father who passed in 2022, whose voice I still hear without having him in the room, and the staff and youth at Art Heals Arizona who remind me why the work is worth the cost.
If I could change anything in the world, it would be… the systems that perpetuate trauma at the individual and community level without giving anything back. I wish for a world that repairs more lives than it traumatizes.
The perfect day would be… a 5K for fun in the morning, an afternoon of writing that actually flows, dinner with my family, and the quiet evening where I can read and think on topics that interest me.
My first job was… moving the lawns at a large church
My favorite escape… a long run, a classical piano piece, and a good book that argues with me.
My life… is an ongoing practice in staying present when structures fail you. That’s also the thesis of the book I’m writing, so at least it’s consistent.
I’m currently working on… personally: a Substack on social work, leadership, and the inner life. Slowly mapping out a book trilogy on leadership and healing presence, and professionally: a strategic plan to grow Art Heals Arizona’s impact across Arizona.
Always… stay present while saying the true and necessary thing.
Never… meet complexity with the same old tools – adapt!
Favorite Quote… “Time to fly, son.”
Biggest Dream… to leave both my family and the systems I’ve worked in more capable of holding people than I found them.
My Pet Peeve(s)… Reply-all. The email equivalent of standing up in a crowded room to tell one person something.
Bio
Matt Sandoval is the CEO of Art Heals Arizona, a trauma-informed arts mentorship nonprofit serving youth in foster care, shelter, and domestic violence systems across Phoenix and Tucson. A licensed social worker (M.Ed., M.S.W., LMSW) he also runs Remix Counseling, a couples practice specializing in Emotionally Focused Therapy, and writes and speaks on leadership, trauma-informed care at an organizational level, and resilience.
