Born in Gresham, Matt has lived in east Multnomah County nearly all of his life.  He attended Fairview Elementary School, Corbett Grade School and Middle School, Rockwood Middle School (he was part of the last graduating class from that school), and graduated from Reynolds High School in 1993.  In high school, he participated on the speech and debate team, and played in the school band and symphony.

After graduation, he continued straight through college, attending Mt. Hood Community College for two years (and competing on the  speech and debate team), and graduated in 1997 after just two years at Portland State University with a degree in Political Science.  He and his wife Anne married in 1996 and have three children, Adam age 10, Christopher age 8 and Julianna age 3. Matt graduated from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College in 2000.

In August 2000, Matt began his career as a practicing attorney in downtown Portland at the age of 24.  His practice downtown included business and construction litigation, and he worked at the firm for over five years.  During this time, he volunteered as an attorney-coach for the Reynolds High School Mock Trial Team, which is a volunteer effort he maintains to this day, and that has expanded to his law partners.

After working as an attorney in Portland for more than five years, and briefly in Vancouver, he started Wand Law Firm, LLC in December of 2006. His law practice has grown and he now has two partners and he maintains a law firm, Wand Maddoux Preston LLC, in downtown Gresham. His practice continues to emphasize litigation, business, construction and real estate matters. He is licensed to practice in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and in state and federal courts.

Matt has volunteered on the Troutdale Budget Committee, the Centennial Celebration Committee, and the Troutdale Library Siting Committee. From 2008-2010, he served on the Troutdale City Council.

Matt was elected to his first term in the State House of Representatives on November 2, 2010 and is proud to represent his neighbors in House District 49, which encompasses Troutdale, Wood Village, Fairview, and small parts of Gresham and Portland. Matt was one of nine new State Representatives to be sworn into Oregon’s 76th Legislative Session on January 10, 2011.

Rep. Wand was one of the few freshman legislators to have been appointed in a leadership position on a committee during the 2011 Legislative Session. Rep. Wand served as Co-Vice Chair on the Joint Committee on Tax Credits and was also been appointed to serve on the House Judiciary Committee and the Revenue Committee.

In his spare time, Matt enjoys the outdoors with his family, like fishing on Mt. Hood and in the Sandy River. He and his wife Anne enjoy watching movies and playing cards. He particularly enjoys watching his children play sports.