Matthew Strauss

Matthew C. Strauss founded and has served since 1960 as the chief executive officer of M.C. Strauss Company. Mr. Strauss received his Bachelor’s Degree and National Forensic League Awards in 1955 from San Diego State University. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1955-1957, and then started his own business after completing education for Real Estate Broker and General Building Contractor licenses. Mr. Strauss has served in the leadership of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County for many years and was San Diego County general campaign chair for 1981 and 1982. Matthew was a founding investor of San Diego National Bank, an early investor of Qualcomm and several investments in the Bio Tech industry. Matthew married Iris Lynn Leeds in 1954. They have three children and seven grandchildren. In 1985, the American Jewish Committee awarded Matthew and Iris the Colonel Irving Solomon “Human Relations Community Service Aware”. Iris is past President and Life Director of The San Diego Opera Company and past member of the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture and appointed by Mayor of San Diego as Liaison for Arts and Culture 2004-2012. Matthew has been a Trustee for San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art since 1987 and President of The Board of Trustees from 2013-2016, and both are Board Members of the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego. Matthew and Iris were also recently appointed to the UCSD Health Board of Advisors. In addition to Matthew’s extensive business and philanthropic ventures, he and Iris are also world-class art collectors. Matthew is the Founder and President of the Matthew and Iris Strauss Family Foundation, founded in 2007, an organization that owns 75 world class artworks, created by national and international artists and housed in its own facilities, which is open to art groups for viewing by appointment. The foundation also lends its works to museums, universities and art institutes world-wide. The Matthew and Iris Strauss Family Foundation has become a significant visual art community resource, and can be viewed at the following web address: www.straussfamilyfoundation.org.