With nearly 28 years of Corrections experience, Matt most recently served as Deputy Department Director, for the Missouri Department of Corrections until his retirement at the end of November 2023.
Matt has served in numerous roles throughout his Corrections career. He began his career within the DOC as a case manager at the Algoa Correctional Center, before promoting to the Department’s Constituent Services Officer and later to Director of Legislation. In this role, Matt spent 10 years navigating the Missouri legislature, testifying hundreds of times in House and Senate hearings, problem solving legislative proposals, creating compromises with extensive time spent working on the Department’s budget.
Following a decade of working with the General Assembly, Matt was promoted to Deputy Division Director, within the Division of Adult Institutions, where he supervised and oversaw the operations of seven prisons within the Missouri DOC. Matt was then promoted to the Director of the Division of Offender Rehabilitative Services, where he served for five years. In this role, he oversaw the operations of Education, Career/Tech,Treatment, Vocational Enterprises, Medical and Mental healthcare. Matt was integral in writing and reviewing the healthcare RFP, the largest single contract in the State ofMissouri.
In 2017, Anne Precythe arrived in Missouri as Director and named Matt as DeputyDirector in February of 2017. Working hand in hand, Matt and Anne began transforming the workplace culture within the Missouri DOC by implementing The Corrections Way. The Corrections Way focused on making the prisons and community confinement facilities places of positivity, appreciation, value, teamwork, trust, rapport, and respect. Anne and Matt also reinvested internal savings into pay raises for DOC staff, implemented trauma response and support for staff, implemented tablets for offenders, and numerous other creative and forward solutions that resulted in Missouri becoming recognized nationally as a leader in the Corrections industry.
Matt has the reputation of being a creative problem solver in the arena of legislation, developing strategic plans, driving strategic initiatives and creative budget solutions. In addition, he excels at communications both internally and externally.
Matt possesses a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and a Master of Art’s degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice.
