Before joining Capalino, Matt was Deputy Chief-of-Staff and District Director for New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. Matt led and coordinated the land-use and budget processes for the district and worked with city and state agencies and community groups on affordable housing, public safety, sanitation, transportation, and homelessness.
At the Council, Matt spearheaded the development of the first new city park in the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan in over 40 years. He also implemented a new participatory budgeting process that engaged thousands of New Yorkers in deciding how a portion of the City’s budget should be spent to improve our public spaces.
Before his work in city government, Matt worked at the Riders Alliance, a grassroots organization committed to improving the City’s public transit system. He was a policy fellow with Council Member Brad Lander and won improvements for a vital bus line for Red Hook, Brooklyn bus riders. He was the Policy Director for Sean Coffey’s campaign for New York State Attorney General in 2010. Matt also has professional experience in both the public and private education sectors.
Matt holds a Master of Science degree in Urban Policy and Nonprofit Management from The New School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication from Wittenberg University. He lives with his wife and son in Hell’s Kitchen.
