Hayden Matthews has over 20 years of experience leading interpretive tours of the Washington DC area, and as a Study Leader for Smithsonian Associates for the last eight years. He has spent 50 years exploring the Mid-Atlantic states and is a biologist by degree, a storyteller at heart, and a lover of all things historical. Accordingly, at the core of his programs are stories that interweave threads of regional cultural and environmental history to illuminate how the physical (climate; land; waters) and the biological/ecological communities (flora and fauna) have each influenced the other over time. Some of the many factors that have shaped the Chesapeake Bay region's evolution are geology; climate; biological and ecological shifts; and most recently, human interventions. Of particular interest to Hayden is how humans and their technologies have influenced this reciprocal relationship over the last 18,000 years and their impacts on the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

Hayden's hope in leading Smithsonian tours is that he can awaken in guests a kindred sense of wonder and appreciation such that they will want to explore the region's many remarkable natural and historic sites on their own and let them speak to them as eloquently as they have to him.