The Education Trust Welcomes Matt de Ferranti as its Director of Legislative Affairs

WASHINGTON (November 18, 2014) — The Education Trust is pleased to announce Matt de Ferranti as the new Director of Legislative Affairs. In this position, Matt will lead the development and execution of The Education Trust’s K-12 and higher education government affairs work. His extensive background as a director of public affairs, policy advisor, attorney, campaign director, and teacher makes him uniquely qualified for this leadership position.

Matt comes to Ed Trust with wide-ranging advocacy experience and a deep commitment to serving underserved communities. Most recently, he served as the senior director of government relations at Rebuilding Together, where he led federal and state policy initiatives to improve homeownership for low-income families. While there, he represented a national network of 187 affiliated nonprofits and led a coalition in support of the HAVEN, or Housing America’s Veterans, Act.

Additionally, Matt brings experience from Habitat for Humanity International, where he served as director of federal agency relations. In this role, Matt advocated for Habitat’s policy priorities before Members of Congress and their staffs and helped secure grants for $3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and $4 million from the U.S. Treasury Department. He also served as senior policy counsel at Feeding America, where he advocated for more than 200 food banks across the country for policies and funds to end hunger in America. Matt also taught third- and fifth-graders in Houston, Texas, as a member of Teach For America.

“I am excited to have Matt lead our legislative affairs team,” said Debbie Veney, vice president for Government Affairs and Communications at The Education Trust. “His legislative and policy prowess, coupled with his enthusiasm and dedication for social justice, will be invaluable as we work with policymakers and stakeholders to identify solutions to end educational inequities.”

Matt completed his undergraduate studies in Public Policy and History at Duke University and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law. He also received a masters in Public Affairs at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and was an Emerging Political Leaders Fellow at the Leadership for Educational Equity.

# # #