Dr. Lynn Matthews was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She received her bachelor's degree in astronomy-physics from the University of Wisconsin--Madison in 1991, and a Ph.D. in astronomy from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1998. Currently Dr. Matthews is a postdoctoral researcher at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, VA, where she studies the structure and evolution of galaxy disks through observations at radio, optical, and near-infrared wavelengths. These studies are performed using telescopes and instruments at facilities throughout the world, including locations in Arizona, West Virginia, France, and Chile, as well as telescopes in space.

Dr. Matthews first became intrigued by astronomy as a child, when her Girl Scout troop developed their own "star-gazer" badge, whose requirements included visiting a local planetarium and learning the layout of the night sky. This interest was rekindled in high school physics class, where her instructor used his avid interest in amateur astronomy to incorporate a great deal of astronomy and its history into his lectures. Before long, Lynn was hooked, and became convinced to pursue astronomy as a career. Having come from Green Bay, she also continues to follow the Packers and maintains her long term interests in reading and languages.