Friends of Chabot College Foundation 2024 Honorees

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Greg Bonato, Business Manager, I.B.E.W. Local 595

Greg Bonato is a 30-year member of IBEW 595. He began his apprenticeship in the fall of 1993. After turning out as an Inside Journeyman Wireman, he has served his local in various capacities, such as teacher aid, Political Director, Executive Board member, President and Delegate to several Councils. He has been elected to numerous positions within BEW 595. Greg has been a Delegate to the Alameda County Building Trades for the past 10 years and was on the Executive Board for the past 8 years. He also served as the PEC chair of the ACBTC. Greg currently serves as a Business Manager/Financial Secretary for IBEW Local Union 595 and President of the Alameda County Building Trades Council.

 

 

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Chief Garrett Contreras, Hayward Fire Department

Retired Hayward Fire Chief Garrett Contreras had 30-year fire service career and 28 years with the Hayward Fire Department that began as a firefighter-paramedic in 1996 and will end after a 12-year run as Chief.

Prior to being appointed Hayward’s 11th Fire Chief in 2012, Contreras was promoted to Captain in 2005, Battalion Chief in 2008, and Deputy Chief of Special Operations in 2011. He also served as President of Hayward Firefighters Local 1909 from 2002 to 2008 and chair of the union’s Political Action Committee, which has been instrumental in passage of voter approved revenue measures to restore, sustain and improve Hayward municipal services, facilities, roadways and other critical infrastructure.

Contreras’ tenure as Chief has been a period of innovation and leadership as the Fire Service has taken on a greater role in emergency medical response regionally, statewide and nationally. He also has been a visionary builder and creator of partnerships that will continue to serve the Hayward community and diversify and advance the Fire Service for decades to come.

In June 2023, also through Contreras’ vision and leadership, Hayward and Chabot-Las Positas Community College District celebrated the opening of a new campus dedicated to fire, rescue and emergency response training and education. Made up of a new regional Fire & Rescue Training Center and new Fire Station No. 6 on the grounds of Hayward Executive Airport, the new campus is now the new home of the Chabot College Fire Academy, a base of operations for firefighting and paramedic response on the City’s westside, and a state-of-the-art facility for fire service continuing education and learning locally, regionally and beyond. It also hosts Eden Area Regional Occupational Program (ROP) educators and students, providing a laboratory for hands-on training and a base for career-oriented mentor relationships between Hayward firefighter-paramedics and area high school-age youth.

Between the opening of the Firehouse Clinic and the new Training Center and Station No. 6, Contreras oversaw the seismic strengthening and updating of five neighborhood fire stations, teamed up with a Menlo Park laboratory to establish the first city-initiated free COVID-19 testing site in the nation, and helped start with the Hayward Police Department a program called Hayward Evaluation and Response Teams, or HEART, to more effectively and safely respond to people who are homeless and experiencing behavioral and mental health crises.

Recently, the Hayward City Council celebrated Chief Contreras’ career and contributions, presenting him with a Certificate of Commendation for his “untiring dedication” and “unwavering service,” and for “making the Hayward community a safer and better place to live, work and play.”

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Chief Bryan Matthews, Hayward Police Department

Chief Matthews began his law enforcement career in 1999 and has served his hometown, the City of Hayward, for 24 consecutive years. Over the course of his service, he worked a variety of assignments, including Patrol, Training, Gang Investigations, SWAT, Community Policing, Internal Affairs, Emergency Preparedness and as the department’s liaison with the community for policy innovation and alternative response models.

Chief Matthews earned an associate’s degree from Chabot College, bachelor’s degree in sociology from California State University, Hayward, now California State University, East Bay, and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Columbia Southern University.

He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the California POST Command College, and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program.

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