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"With four generations of
New Bedford history behind
me and great confidence in
the people of our community,
I stand before you today as
a candidate for Mayor of my
hometown, the great city of
New Bedford.
I ask for your vote. I ask
for your ideas. But most of
all, I ask you to believe
again in New Bedford and all
that it can be with new
leadership.”
-
Matthew Morrissey |
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More About
Matt |
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 Matt
Morrissey grew up on Hersom and
Irvington streets in the North End
of New Bedford. The son of a school
teacher and grandson of two small
business owners, he attended St.
Joseph’s School and Greater New
Bedford Regional Vocational
Technical High School.
After graduating from high school,
Matt went to the University of
Massachusetts where he majored in
English Literature and became a
student leader, working with many
students on issues like hunger and
homelessness, voter registration,
and improving the environment. He
was elected twice by his peers to
represent the 6,000 students of
UMass Dartmouth on the University of
Massachusetts System Board of
Trustees.
As a student trustee, Matt served
alongside business and civic leaders
from across the Commonwealth. During
his tenure on the Board he focused
on containing student fees and
increasing educational quality
across the five campuses of the
UMass system. Matt testified several
times before the House and Senate
Ways and Means and Education
Committees on issues ranging from
facility improvements, increases in
financial aid, economic access, and
academic quality. In addition to
working on several local campaigns,
Matt campaigned for U.S. Senator Ted
Kennedy in 1994, and organized UMass
Students for Kennedy—one of the
largest political rallies in UMass
Dartmouth history.
Matt organized University budget
advocacy efforts on Beacon Hill and
in Washington, served on four
high-ranking executive search
committees, and organized numerous
seminars designed to educate
citizens about the implications of
budget cuts and the importance of
increased involvement. For these
efforts, Matt was awarded the 1996
Distinguished Student Service Award.
Having earned the respect of his
fellow Board of Trustees members,
Matt was fortunate to have several
employment opportunities upon
graduation. His belief in education
as the great equalizer in our
society led him to choose a post on
the 5-campus University leadership
team. Matt was hired to serve in the
UMass Office of the President. As
Assistant to the President, Matt
performed a variety of key
government relations, Board and
campus liaison, and special project
functions.
Among his special projects was
management of the
Israel/Ireland/Northern Ireland
technology venture conference, which
brought dozens of high-tech
start-ups to the United States to
meet with venture capitalists.
Partnering with MIT’s Sloan School
of Business and the Cullinane Group,
the goal of the conference was to
help emerging companies in
strife-torn Northern Ireland learn
from companies that succeeded under
similar circumstances in Israel.
An entrepreneur at heart, Matt was a
founding member of a company which
aimed to connect people of similar
interests with each other to conduct
business. The idea attracted the
interest of significant companies
and trade organizations and led to
the creation of a company known as
Mogall.com (named for the Gaelic
term meaning “Networking”) in 1999.
In late 2000, Mogall co-founders
re-positioned the original Mogall
software as a Knowledge Management
portal. Matt was hired at one of
Mogall's top clients, the Public
Consulting Group, as a senior
consultant. (www.pcgus.com)
At the Public Consulting Group, Matt
led a group of consultants in
refining the knowledge management
portal product, now known as PCG
Knowledge Net. In 2001, the Public
Consulting Group acquired the
company that was recapitalized from
Mogall.
Matt’s portfolio was immediately
broadened, and he led several
projects in the state of New
Hampshire and the city of Boston. He
was selected to present at knowledge
management conferences in Chicago
and in California.
After Matt and his wife, Kristin,
had their first child, they decided
Matt’s hometown was the place they
wanted to raise their own family.
They purchased a home near Clasky
Common Park and become engaged the
life of the city and region.
He began working for UMass
Dartmouth, his alma mater, in 2002
as Assistant to the Chancellor. In
this capacity, Matt has played a key
strategic role for the chancellor on
organizational development, and
community and government relations
for an institution with a budget of
over $100 million, and a university
community of 10,000 people.
Matt also played a leadership role
in the development and
implementation of the plan to merger
between UMass Dartmouth with the
Southern New England School of Law.
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