Partnership Specialist, Inter-American Foundation
In 2021, Matt joined the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), a nimble and transformative U.S. government agency that invests in community-led development across Latin America and the Caribbean. He is responsible for leading efforts to identify, develop, implement and manage partnerships to bring greater technical and financial resources to bear to achieve IAF’s grassroots development goals. Prior, in addition to numerous strategic advisory roles, Matt was President of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), fighting for human rights in Latin America and at the U.S. border.
Previously, he spent fifteen years in the senior leadership of Partners of the Americas, a non-profit organization that brings together people, governments, and local organizations to address challenges in the hemisphere, including building resilient civil societies and by promoting citizen engagement and transparency.
Matt was part of the Brookings Initiative on International Volunteering and Service, working with global and cross-border volunteering advocates to form the Building Bridges Coalition (BBC), and then to serve as its chair. He also led President Obama’s 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund.
Thanks to his leadership, Partners of the Americas joined IAVE as co-host of the 2nd World Summit for Youth Volunteering in 2011 in Barranquilla, Colombia with over 900 participants from throughout the world.