A Few Minutes with… July 2023

For Mathew Gordon, mentoring young Black men as President/CEO of The Blue Heart Foundation is a life calling, one that reminds him every day about the difficulties he’s overcome in his own life.

When Gordon was growing up, he was forced to constantly move in and out of shelters, motels, and other places of temporary refuge.

Now, he proudly leads the non-profit social service agency, founded in 2013, and based in Southeast San Diego with the goal of mentoring dozens of young men ages 13 to 18.

Though only 33, Gordon has nearly a decade of experience at San Diego’s City Hall, having served under former City Council President Myrtle Cole and, more recently, his role as director of Mayor Todd Gloria’s office of boards and commissions.

As CEO of a non-profit that helps young Black men, what have you learned about yourself?

I’ve learned a great deal, which would include but isn’t limited to what it means to properly mentor and be a leader who provides, as our mission statement says, a secure and equitable path to higher education, emotional health, and character development for young African-American males.

Where do you get your inspiration to help others?

I think I get my inspiration from two people, led by my mother, Paulette Steger- Johnson, and also the previous co-founder of this organization, Tracy Morris, who unexpectedly passed away in 2022, which prompted me to accept this position.

We were close prior to his passing and his family asked me to step in. At the time, I was working for Mayor Todd Gloria as a member of his Executive Leadership team and I stepped down to fulfill this role.

I believe in what Tracy and the team built and I am just happy to be a part of it.

Growing up, what was your childhood like?

I am a product of a single-parent household. I lived with my mom, who was a disabled housekeeper and my father, who pretty much wasn’t in my life and was a gang member.

I spent much of my upbringing experiencing chronic homelessness, moving back and forth, and at one point I went to five or six different high schools.

Growing up in Southeast San Diego, you see everything from gangs to drugs to folks getting harmed, beat up and shot, that sort of thing.

What are the biggest obstacles to changing young people’s lives?

I think the biggest obstacle is that first, they have to want to change or be open to it. What we do here is a journey, and it starts with them wanting to experience that journey and have the motivation to go through the entire journey with us.

There’s good, there’s bad, and there’s ugly, but it’s a journey that’s fulfilling. What I like to say is we hold up a mirror to these young men. It’s up to them to not only see their image within that mirror, but to learn from that image to become the best version of themselves.

Do you see something of yourself when you serve as a mentor?

Absolutely. Personally, I have the opportunity of a lifetime to become the man that I didn’t have when I was growing up.

It’s an incredible honor for me to make sure, to the best of my ability, that I’m serving these young men, doing it honorably and admirably, to get them to the next level. I’m very proud of that.

What career goals do you have as you look ahead?

To be honest, I’m not there yet. I’m laser-focused on expanding this organization, not only with our new office space [at the intersection of Euclid and Imperial] and our programs, which we’re doing right now, but fulfilling our obligation to provide a quality experience not only our young Black men, but also their families, as well.