Education has always been at the center of Matt’s life.  Matt’s father, a university Finance administrator, served on their local school governing board and his mother enjoyed a long career in public school teaching. Initially contemplating teaching as a career, himself, after obtaining an undergraduate degree from American University, Matt earned his masters in education from Harvard followed by a PhD in Sociology of Education from Teacher’s College at Columbia University.  While working to found and develop several education technology startups, Matt has also taught and served as a tenure track professor at ASU where he remains as a visiting scholar. 

Matt co-founded and led two global education technology companies, starting with Blackboard in 1997 and more recently Parchment, a Scottsdale based company with 350 employees that was recently acquired by Instructure.  Additionally, Matt has served on the boards of various non-profit and corporate organizations.

Matt and his wife, Julie, a Phoenix native, moved to Paradise Valley in 2008 where they are raising their three children. All went to SUSD schools, with two now in SUSD middle and high schools and one at Brophy.  Matt represents families who have made different choices for different children at different stages of their education, and is running to help improve SUSD for all families. Matt is an active volunteer and supporter of our neighborhood schools, having served on site council and with Cub Scouts. Matt is a proud Eagle Scout and supporter of scouting.