Matt serves as Principal Manager, Portfolio & Partnerships (North America) with EcoAct’s Nature & Tech Based Solutions Business Unit. Matt contributes to EcoAct’s portfolio of carbon offset projects by developing partnerships, sourcing credits, performing due diligence assessments, and supporting colleagues in sales and business development.

In this role, I managed updates to the VCS Program, to introduce new rules, requirements, and functionality to the leading carbon crediting program serving the voluntary carbon markets. My work aligns the VCS with international standards, ensures the environmental integrity of the program, offers more options to stakeholders, and raises the bar for projects certifying their carbon and other benefits under the program.

As a Program Officer, I provided guidance and support to stakeholders, led project quality assurance reviews, managed the development of new GHG accounting methodologies, and led special data analytics and research projects. I also supported program development initiatives for Verra’s active standard programs, primarily the VCS Program.Verra is a standard-setting organization, serving global markets with rigorous environmental and social standards, including the Verified Carbon Standard. Project proponents use these standards to certify projects' impacts, such as greenhouse gas emission reductions, and generate carbon credits. Proponents retire or sell credits, driving private finance to those projects proven to effectively reduce emissions and contribute toward sustainable development.

As a member of the Rural Poverty Analytics Team, under the Local Solutions to Poverty Trust Fund, I contributed research and analysis in support of the Village Law Program, Indonesia's largest investment in community-driven development in the past ten years.Examples of my work include identifying trends in poverty change to determine effective policy levers and producing socio-economic statistics, visualizations, and summaries to inform policy discussions. I used national survey data and varied statistical methods (regression, machine learning, other techniques) to perform econometric analyses. Research outputs from this team were presented to the Government of Indonesia to inform the 2020-2024 national mid-term development plan.

As Policy Manager, I led policy outreach activities to develop new research projects, synthesize and disseminate policy lessons on what works in international development, and communicate the use of evidence. Duties included assessing the policy landscape to identify research trends and demand for evidence, and develop new research projects; meeting with national policymakers and other partners to adapt and apply international policy lessons to the context in Southeast Asia; and liaising with the principal funder, the Government of Australia, to report progress and share lessons with other DFAT-funded initiatives in Indonesia.J-PAL Southeast Asia is a research center, based at the University of Indonesia, that conducts randomized evaluations of policy interventions throughout the region. The mission of J-PAL is to fight poverty by ensuring that public policy is informed by scientific evidence.

I served as a teaching assistant for the client-oriented foundation course, "Public Policy Analysis II."• Designed course materials• Consulted on client projects• Evaluated performance of 20 master’s students

Advised 12 undergraduate students on career and internship placements, managed Peace Corps Coverdell service commitments for 16 graduate students

The United Nations Office for REDD+ Coordination in Indonesia (UNORCID) is the UN System’s national hub for its climate change mitigation program known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, or UN-REDD Programme. UNORCID provides the Government of Indonesia, its UN counterparts, and all stakeholders with technical expertise and assistance in formulating policies that align economic growth, national development, and environmental goals.• Wrote policy briefs on renewable energy, international climate finance, environmental regulations• Drafted terms of reference, talking points, reports, and articles on environment issues• Contributed research toward a feasibility study for the Sustainable Bioenergy Programme

Peace Corps works in partnership with the Government of Indonesia and its schools to (1) improve English learning, (2) improve English teaching, and (3) promote youth, community development.• Designed Indonesia’s first boys leadership camp to promote gender equality, critical thinking, teamwork, and sex education• Implemented a grant-funded project to drill wells and install hand-washing stations at a school, promoting sanitation and water access• Taught tenth, eleventh grade English at an Islamic high school