Matt Woods is a lifelong resident of Senate District 5. He grew up in South Walker County and graduated from Oakman High School in 2000. Matt was a multi-sport athlete, team captain, and class president. He continued his education at Bevill State Community College serving as an ambassador at the Sumiton Campus. Woods also served as an ambassador at the Bevill State Jasper Campus and was elected as the student government association president his sophomore year. After transferring to Auburn University, he attained a B.S. in Business Administration with a focus in aviation. In 2014, he received the designation as a Certified Master Dealer through the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association. Following his college career, he moved back home to Walker County and went to work full- time at the family business, Jasper Auto Sales.
Matt has been an active member of his community, serving on numerous boards and civic groups. He is the past-chairman and executive committee member of the Walker County Chamber of Commerce where he received the 2014, “Volunteer of the Year Award.” He has served as a mentor for the Walker County Youth Leadership Program and is an alumnus of Leadership Walker County. He served as a board of trustee member with the Walker College Foundation, which provides 50 scholarships annually to Walker County students. Matt has experience in awarding non-profit grants thanks to his time as a grant reviewer with the Walker Area Community Foundation. The WACF provides financial resources and expertise to local non-profits organizations assisting with projects that positively impact the region. In 2018, Matt was appointed by Governor Kay Ivey to serve on the Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees. The ACCS is comprised of 24 community and technical colleges including the Alabama Technology Network and Marion Military Institute. As a member of the ACCS Board of Trustees, Matt focused on initiatives and policies that create opportunities for student success. In 2020, he joined the board of directors for the Alabama Independent Automobile Dealers Association, which represents over 800 car dealers across the state.
A reliably conservative voter, Matt takes a business approach to Montgomery while staying engaged in the communities he serves. Matt is a second-generation entrepreneur and owner at Jasper Auto Sales. He comes from a coal mining heritage and understands the challenges Alabamians face each day.
Matt and his wife of 19 years, Brandi, reside in Jasper. Together, they have a 15-year-old daughter, Camden. Following the loss of their first child, Brandi started a local non-profit organization named Hope After Loss Organization (HALO). Hope After Loss Organization provides memory boxes and grief support to families who have experienced the loss of a child. Matt has served as the president of HALO since inception and credits the many families HALO has served for allowing, he and his family to cope with their own loss. Matt serves as a deacon at the Parrish Church of Christ, where he has attended his whole life.
Matt was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2022. Matt has passed meaningful legislation in his short tenure including the “Alabama Child Protection Act of 2024,” which created the strongest child sexual abuse law in the country. Matt voted for the largest tax cut in Alabama history by reducing the state grocery tax. He co-sponsored the elimination of the state income tax on overtime pay and voted to cap annual property tax increases. In 2024, he carried “The Parents Right to Know” bill that created transparency in K-12 education curriculum by requiring schools to make classroom materials available to parents and guardians. Matt also passed a law to require Alabama colleges to report funding from foreign countries of concern, such as China.