Matt Levy

Matt Levy is the Vice President of Evaluation & Learning at First Place for Youth, an organization dedicated to supporting transition-age foster youth (ages 18-24).12 Based in Oakland, California, Matt has over 10 years of experience in helping mission-driven organizations turn data into actionable insights for the social impact sector.1

Professional Background

Matt's educational background is in public policy and analytics from Stanford University.1 He joined First Place for Youth in January 2020 as the Director of Data & Performance Management and was promoted to his current role as Vice President of Evaluation & Learning in July 2021.1

Responsibilities and Expertise

In his role, Matt is responsible for:

1. Measuring and evaluating programs and new interventions implemented by First Place for Youth in California and with national partners.12
2. Overseeing the organization's data systems, including AWS and Power BI.1
3. Creating state-of-the-art dashboards and ensuring automated ETL processes function properly.1
4. Driving the implementation and sale of a new proprietary and predictive analytics tool called the Youth Roadmap Tool.1
5. Steering the organization's innovation agenda using test and learn techniques.1

Matt is an expert in:

• Data visualization
• Scripting in R & SQL
• Leveraging human-centered design to co-create dashboards
• Applying an equity and participatory lens to support the organization's transition to becoming anti-racist1

Professional Philosophy

Matt's focus is on helping organizations convert data from a "frenemy" to an ally and advocate.1 He is passionate about addressing the common issues in the social impact sector, such as having too much data but too little insight, and a lack of strategy.1

Previous Experience

Before joining First Place for Youth, Matt worked as a Strategy and Systems Design Consultant at Stanford ChangeLabs, where he was involved in managing innovation components for projects like the Resilient Africa Network.1

Matt Levy is recognized as a DataEthics4All Top 100 DIET Champion in 2021, highlighting his commitment to ethical data practices in his field.3