Matt is a 28 year-old queer nêhiyaw from Driftpile Cree Nation (Treaty 8) living on Treaty 6 territory in amiskwacîwâskahikan. With a background in community based research and Indigenous studies, they work and volunteer in the housing/homelessness, poverty reduction, and broader community services sector. Their current roles include Manager of Planning & Engagement at Homeward Trust as well as the Chair of the Human Services Community Granting Committee at the Edmonton Community Foundation.

They work hard to ensure that responses to social issues consider the unique needs and rights of youth, Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ communities and have experience in community engagement practices, community-based research, engaging voices with lived experience, system planning, and human-centered design. They also spend a lot of time thinking critically about social innovation, and have deployed these skills in a number of different contexts.

In their free time they’re usually found downtown Edmonton, where they live. They’ve got a lovely community garden plot, a membership to a gym they never go to, and a love for decaf coffee, craft beer, and video games.