Matt Cabrera was born and raised in Riverside, CA where he attended and had his Bar Mitzvah at Temple   Beth El. Matt is the child of an interfaith relationship (hence the Hispanic last name) and learned early on   about the beauty of not just Judaism but different religions and that believing in something bigger than   yourself offers comfort and humility in equal measures.

 Matt attended UCLA, during his freshman year, met and began dating the love of his life, Brooke Hargrove.   After graduating from UCLA almost cum laude, Matt followed Brooke to the island of Oahu where she   completed medical school. Matt and Brooke moved to Costa Mesa in 2007 where Brooke eventually began   her illustrious career as an OB/GYN at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. Upon buying their first home in   Eastside Costa Mesa in 2013, Matt and Brooke created and raised two incredible and busy children, Ella and   Aaron. When Matt is not at TBY or driving his children around Orange County, he works as the National   Sales Director for Blue Star Group Promo, a promotional marketing firm.Matt joined Temple Bat Yahm in   2016 when his daughter started preschool at TBY’s ECE. He got his first taste of leadership on the Rabbi   Educator Search Committee where he assisted in the search and hiring of Rabbi Miriam Phillips; from that moment on Matt knew that his calling was in a leadership role at TBY.

Matt relishes all of the relationships he has built in the past 8 years at TBY and continues to find new things to love about the congregation. This is Matt’s home away from home and he could not be more honored to serve as President of the Board of Trustees.