Ball was born in
Toledo, Ohio. Before founding
Vegan Outreach, Matt Ball obtained an M.S. in Forest Ecology at the University of Illinois, and an M.S. in Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, during which time he was a Department of Energy Global Change Fellow. He also held a research fellowship in the Department of Biology at the University of Pittsburgh. Their child Elwen Katya Green was born on July 16, 1994, in Pennsylvania and was raised as a vegan. They live in
Tucson, Arizona. Ball says: "[W]e must focus on getting people to consider their first step toward compassion, rather than arguing for our current philosophy or diet. Most non-vegetarians tune out when told to go vegan but may consider starting to make changes like adopting
Meatless Mondays or eating fewer chickens." ==Publications==