My name is Fernando Mateo Jr. I grew up in NYC, NY, then moved upstate to live with my father during my youth. I attended Irvington Middle and High School there. In the early 90s, my father and I created “Toys for Guns,” a program that exchanged illegal guns for gift vouchers, gaining worldwide attention. This earned me a scholarship to John Jay College of Criminal Justice, an opportunity to travel to Italy for 6 weeks, and an invitation to speak to a Congressional subcommittee on gun control.

After high school, I chose to attend the University at Albany SUNY instead of John Jay, where I played football for 2 years and graduated with a degree in Communications and a minor in Psychology. Although I initially wanted to work in PR and Advertising, I decided to run my family's new utility installation construction business. My family had previously operated a sidewalk restoration company for Consolidated Edison and utilized a mentorship program to support our new minority-owned business. I gained practical experience during my summers off, which helped me take full control of the business after college. Once the mentorship ended, I learned to manage operations effectively, maximizing labor and increasing production while maintaining our workforce during slower times.In two years, I became responsible for daily management of sidewalk restoration contracts. A year later, my family started a traffic control company with flaggers. Within three years, my responsibilities increased significantly. I began overseeing 15 people, and after five years, I managed more than 150 employees at the company's peak. I had supervisors and support staff, but I was in charge of the entire operation. My family handled contract bidding and administrative tasks, while I managed job procurement, payroll, billing, union relations, job coordination, dump truck operations, and everything else that needed to be done.

Unfortunately, around 2012-2013, we lost our contracts due to circumstances outside my control, and I needed to adapt. Despite this setback, my education and experience gave me confidence in my future. This led me to create 3 Lil Sisters Productions LLC, where I had to build a portfolio of photos and videos from scratch. It was challenging to do everything alone, and I entered into a partnership that ultimately failed..  

In 2015, I took a job with the City of New York as a hydraulic mechanic in the Department of Sanitation. I started with no experience in mechanics. Since then, I have gained more knowledge and skills than many gain in 30 years. I began in the parts department, learning every aspect of the job to fill various roles as needed. I conducted parts audits and helped organize parts rooms in different garages. During a labor shortage, I repaired collection and snow equipment and eventually became an auditor for snow upgrades, a role usually reserved for more experienced mechanics. Now, I specialize in maintaining hydraulic mechanical brooms, and our team consistently ranks as the best with the lowest downtime.