About Matt Dunne

A lifelong resident of Hartland, Matt, his wife Sarah Stewart Taylor, and their son Judson live on the small farm where he grew up. During his career, Matt has been a small business owner, a marketing executive, a college administrator, director of AmeriCorps*VISTA, and a legislator.

Matt is in his second term in the State Senate where he serves on the Appropriations, Economic Development, and Administrative Rules Committees. He currently serves on the boards of American Humanics and as the Chair of the Vermont delegation to the New England Board of Higher Education . In addition to his Senate duties, Matt was the Associate Director of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy at Dartmouth College until July 2006, where he oversaw programs to prepare young people for careers in non-profit management and public service. In the summer of this year Matt left the post in order to devote all his energy to his campaign for Lt. Governor, an exciting trail characterized by its ability to engage young people in the political process (see more on our service politics page.)

Before being elected to the Senate, Matt served two-and-a-half years as the National Director of AmeriCorpsVISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) , one of the federal government's primary community service programs. Serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations, he oversaw approximately 6000 AmeriCorpsVISTA members engaged in the fight against poverty throughout the United States, addressing problems that range from healthcare to technology to literacy. During his tenure, he launched an Entrepreneur Corps, which sends VISTA members into low-income neighborhoods to help residents save money, purchase homes, and start businesses. He also developed a partnership with the Vermont School for International Training .

Prior to becoming the Director of AmeriCorps*VISTA, Matt was a four-term state representative for Hartland and West Windsor, working with constituents and colleagues to find creative and common sense solutions to Vermonters' problems. First elected to the Vermont General Assembly at the age of 22, Matt served in a variety of leadership roles, including Vice-Chair of the Transportation Committee, and in 1998 his peers elected him Assistant Majority Leader, making him the youngest whip in the country at the time.

While serving in the legislature, Matt also maintained a career as a marketing executive. He was coordinator of the inaugural Glory Days of the Railroad Festival and was subsequently trained as an Account Executive in a marketing and advertising firm. From 1997 to January, 2000, Matt was Marketing Director for Logic Associates, a top 500 software company based in Wilder that served the commercial printing industry worldwide.

From his very first campaign, Matt used his business background to take on economic development issues specific to the Connecticut River Valley. He authored legislation to encourage the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields -- contaminated and usually abandoned industrial sites that waste precious in-town real estate and blight our landscape. He also authored legislation to provide tax incentives, transportation dollars, and regulatory changes to encourage investment in downtowns. These initiatives created the opportunity for new jobs without compromising our farm and forestland, just the kind of "win-win" solution that Matt likes to find.

Matt founded the Vermont Film Commission to encourage motion picture producers and directors to make movies in Vermont, bringing substantial revenue into the state while protecting and promoting our state's historic town centers and rural landscape. To demonstrate the bipartisan and diverse appeal of the commission, the first statewide film industry forum was co-sponsored by the Vermont Labor Forum and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce.

In the Senate, Matt continued these economic development efforts creating a package of programs intended to stimulate the new creative economy. These initiatives included grants to bring broadband to rural areas, regulations to encourage foreign companies to locate in Vermont, and a seed capital fund to support home grown start up companies.

Throughout his career, Matt has focused on getting young Vermonters involved in public life. He has been proud to administer the Freeman's Oath to hundreds of new voters over the years. In 1995, he worked with a group of Windsor High School students to create the first Vermont Youth Court. In 1997, he teamed up with Professor Tony Gierzynski to create the University of Vermont Legislative Research Shop, an accredited course in which students take on research projects for Vermont legislators. At Dartmouth, he has created a similar research entity that serves the Vermont and New Hampshire legislatures.

Matt grew up on a small farm, where his family raised sheep, pigs and other livestock, and while they did not depend on farming for their primary source of income, he has always been aware of the challenges facing farmers in Vermont. In his time in the legislature, he has been a champion of efforts to support young farmers, conserving prime agriculture land, exempting farm buildings from current use and promoting agricultural products nation-wide.

Matt served in leadership roles on the Vermont Arts Council and was a founding board member of the Vermont Film Commission. He was also on the board of Windsor County Court Diversion, the Vermont Rail Council, and the State Infrastructure Bank. For 3 years, he was the president of Cabin Fever Productions, an organization that produced music and children's theater, and managed the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction.

Matt attended Hartland Elementary School and Hanover High School and is an alumnus of Brown University with honors in Public Policy (B.A. 1992). In 1996 he was named Arthur Flemming Fellow through the Center for Policy Alternatives. He has received the Governor's Highway Safety award, received national honors from the American Legion for work on Veterans issues, and was named Library Advocate for the Year in 1999.

Matt's wife Sarah Stewart Taylor is a journalist and murder mystery writer.

Judson Bailey Dunne, born June 22, 2005, is the new addition to the family. He is named for Sarah's maternal Great Grandfather, his grandfather Dunne was a JBD, and Bailey is the name of his Vermont ancestors (his Great Grandmother Emeline Bailey) from Newport and North Troy.