
Dr. Rafael Matos
Dr. Rafael Matos is a communications expert on a mission to help people find their voices, take action and live their most authentically conscious lives.
TOPICS
- Authenticity
- Communication
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
- Latinx Focused
- Masculinity
- Motivation & Inspiration
- Personal Growth
- Self Esteem
- Stress Management
KEYNOTES
Getting to know
Dr. Rafael Matos
Dr. Rafael Matos is Afro-Latino, born in Puerto Rico to Dominican parents. His family moved to NYC, where he grew up in the South Bronx. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Southern California, and a PhD in Communication Media and Instructional Technology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is a life member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Dr. Matos has worked on various college campuses, ranging from small liberal arts to large public institutions, where he effectively connected with students and engaged them in critical conversations. He has served as a consultant to national fraternities and sororities. He is a speaker and facilitator who has impacted thousands of people across the country.
Dr. Matos focuses on leadership and personal development. His work explores the intersectionality of identities through the use of personal narrative. His style is a blend of laid-back Los Angeles attitude and New York City directness – the result is a gentle, tough love approach that empowers people around him. His life motto, “Make what you believe manifest,” reflects his desire to help people achieve their best.
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
To help you promote your event with Rafael, CAMPUSPEAK has created promotional templates you can use. In this folder, you will find resources for social media, a promotional poster for printing, and press photos you can use for your event.
Link to Promotional Materials
LOGISTICAL MATERIALS
There is still time to #register for this amazing conference!!!! Visit @cglcnj bio for the link. Hurry b/c #registration closes on Monday!

Happy first anniversary to THE @bronxsigmas! One year ago today (September 23) the General Board of @pbs_1914 approved charter for Tau Chi Sigma. This is was a historic moment because it marked the first time the Fraternity established a chapter dedicated to serving the needs of the various communities in #TheBronx. I am proud to serve as a charter member and grateful for the opportunity afforded to me by the Fraternity, the @pbseast, and the initial group of Brothers who decided to make my hometown a priority! Here’s to a lifetime of #service in the #BoogieDown! We are celebrating Tau Chi Sigma Month from September 23-October 23!!!

First day of class was a success!!!! It’s great to be back in the classroom on the faculty side!

I remember #September11, 2001 very clearly! I was awaken by a friend’s phone call who kept telling me to turn on the news. When I did, I saw the second picture plane hit the tower. It’s an image I cannot forget! I called my family back in #NYC worried. Even though we live in the #Bronx, my dad used to take the Path train to New Jersey at the #WorldTradeCenter. He was there that morning, but got out just before the second plane hit. I count my blessings, because many people did bot make it out alive. Today is a day to reflect on the lives lost, the sacrifices made, and the opportunities we have to band together to uplift our communities and fight for justice for all. #NeverForget

Happy birthday to our Honorable Founder Bro. Charles I Brown, who would have celebrated 138 years today! #pbs1914 #sigma109

Welcome to @pbs_1914 #Conclave 2023 in the beautiful city of @houston!The IHQ staff arrived today to roll out the blue carpet and make sure Brothers have the time of their lives! Get ready to #BELIEVE in our #power as we lead the movement!

Today marked the start of my 4th year as a member of @pbs_1914’s International Headquarters staff. What an incredible journey it continues to be! Thank you to @dafundamental1 for giving me this opportunity! Thank you @pbsintlpres35 for believing in me and making space for my talents to contribute to our beloved fraternity! Thank you @shadedog1914 for your guidance. Thank you @president_rey for continuously pushing my colleagues and I to provide our Brothers a fraternal experience they can BELIEVE in! And of course, thank you to my IHQ team for all that you do to make our office a home!

As July 7 closes, I take a moment to celebrate 77 years of Alpha Upsilon Chapter, my gateway into Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. I am grateful for the incredible memories and the amazing Brothers I’ve met along the way. I will always be thankful for my Dean, Dana Williams, for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime! Your love for this Fraternity will live on in my spirit!

Happy #4thofjuly With so much going on in our society, I hope folks found space to celebrate #independenceday. I know for some of us it doesn’t always feel like a welcoming space. I am glad to live in this country if for no other reason than the fact I have the ability to connect with kindred spirits to effect #change.

Celebrate our second #independenceday! #juneteenth commemorates the day (June 19, 1865) the last group of enslaved Black people in the state of Texas were freed.

KEYNOTES
Positive Disruption: Embracing Yourself to Defeat Your Inner Saboteur
Feel like a fraud? Are you afraid of people discovering you are a fraud? Do you have difficulty internalizing your success? If you answered “Yes” these questions, chances are you may have a case of Impostor Syndrome! You are not alone – Did you know that about 70% of people experience impostor syndrome. Think about it, we are conditioned to believe that our titles and credentials are measures of our success, so much so that sometimes we focus our energies on securing external validation. And why is that even after we get the accolades we still feel empty? Because our inner saboteurs will not allow us to be our best
In this keynote, Rafael talks openly about overcoming imposter syndrome, defeating his inner saboteur, and living authentically.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will learn:
- Ways to differentiate between internal and external validation
- 3 strategies to deal with their inner saboteur
- Techniques to find their own internally-driven self-confidence
- How to develop their own plan to live authentically
Bridges Not Walls: Confronting Bias in Your Community
Racial inequities in the United States were pushed further into the forefront of our country. Students are impacted by things such as the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police Officer, the Black Lives Matter movement, the anti-Asian hate crimes, and healthcare disparities exposed by the coronavirus pandemic. As champions for justice, diversity, equity and inclusion, we must identify and take action to address biased and oppressive behaviors.
While some leaders excel in this area, there are others who avoid the topic altogether. This interactive keynote session uses Critical Race Theory (CRT) social as a framework to provide participants practical ways to engage peers, students and professionals, across various identities, in dialogue that is meaningful, challenging and supportive of both professionals and students.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will learn:
- How to define microaggression and provide an example from their own experiences
- How to identify personal barriers that hinder their ability to engage in diversity dialogue
- How to identify their own strategy to address a diversity concern they face.
TALK WITH ME BRO! A Brother’s Guide to Healthy Accountability
Ever have a conversation with your fraternity Brother that started out good and ended very wrong? You thought it was a simple discussion, but somehow it escalated to a full-blown argument you could not escape! Then there was that time at a chapter meeting and there’s a Brother who is critical of everything, even the order of the agenda. You want to address your Brother’s concerns, but you don’t know where to start.
Managing interpersonal relationships is an essential component of leading a fraternity. And though we intend to be Brotherly in our dealings, our intentions are challenged by something called relational aggression, a form of aggression that harms relationships. This interactive session will share some practical and effective ways to positively address a Brother’s behavior, hold him accountable to fraternity expectations, and preserve relationships. Students will role play scenarios and gain resources to help them hone their newly acquired skills.
NOTE: This program can be customized to include women and non-Greek letter organizations.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will learn:
- How to identify behavior that constitutes relational aggression
- Skills to confront chapter members’ inappropriate behaviors
- Tips to facilitate healthy dialogue among chapter members
- Techniques to maintain composure while confronting a difficult person
Surprise! You’re Having a Crisis
A crisis is an unpredictable event that can threaten the well-being of people and organizations. A crisis can occur at any time, and sometimes without warning. Crisis preparedness is often overlooked until it is too late and we find ourselves in the middle of a crisis. And while you can’t predict when a crisis will happen, you can anticipate one and prepare your strategy to deal with its impact.
Effective crisis management and communication are essential for the survival of any organization. The best method to deal with a crisis is to avoid one altogether. Easier said than done? Sometimes, but preparing yourself and your chapter to identify, anticipate and handle a crisis is not as difficult as you may think. This interactive session provides participants strategies to help them prepare a plan to navigate crises.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will learn:
- The definition of a crisis and how to identify how a crisis forms.
- How to anticipate and prevent a crisis
- Practical ways to manage a crisis in progress
- How to build an effective crisis management plan
“Hypermasculinity” in NPHC fraternities
Collegiate members of NPHC fraternities express their commitment to intellectual achievement and high standards in personal conduct, while at the same time, displaying problematic hypermasculine-like behaviors. The first reaction is to label members as hypermasculine, but digging deeper, this label may be inaccurate. Black men’s masculinity in the United States is constructed through a lens of racism and White supremacy. These hypermasculine-like behaviors are further influenced by popular culture and perceived representations of Black masculinity. Members may not realize the reasons why they are actively engaging and promoting these behaviors.
This interactive program seeks to develop critical perspectives on Black men masculinities related to power, privilege, and oppression by examining the misalignment between behavioral standards and expectations set by their fraternities and their actions. Symbolic interactionism, social identity theory, and media ecology provide a theoretical foundation to understand the influences of popular culture on hypermasculinity in collegiate chapters of NPHC fraternities. Participants will explore how collegiate members of NPHC fraternities renegotiate the behavior standards of their organization by decoding the messages and encoding them with their own meanings.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will learn:
- to identify popular culture influence on hypermasculine-like behaviors displayed by collegiate members of NPHC fraternities
- to define the representations of Black masculinity, and
- to identify alternative actions to replace hypermasculine-like behaviors.
RAFAEL’S BLOGS
The following are past entries Rafael has written for the CAMPUSPEAK Speaker’s Voice Blog