Matthew was born and raised in the Baltimore area. He earned a degree in Biological Sciences with a focus in Neurobiology and Physiology from the University of Maryland, College Park. After graduating, Matthew Immediately left to serve in the Peace Corps in Mozambique. He worked as a secondary school Biology teacher in the western province of Mozambique about 100 miles from the Zambia border. After two years of teaching, Matthew was picked up to serve as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist in the Provincial Ministry of Health in Inhambane City. Upon returning to the states, he began a career in international development in Washington, DC, where he remained until relocating to Baltimore to begin the MBE degree program at the Berman Institute of Bioethics.