Meet New 1995 Society Inductee, Matthew Hurtt!

Meet New 1995 Society Inductee, Matthew Hurtt!

Matthew Hurtt is the Director of Professional Services at the Leadership Institute.  He is also an internationally recognized fundraiser, organizer, writer, and public speaker.

For nearly six years, Hurtt worked at Americans for Prosperity & AFP Foundation, where he organized activists across the country around policies that promote prosperity and opportunity.  For three years, Hurtt was the public face of AFP/F’s Grassroots Leadership Academy, representing AFP/F at national conferences and other speaking engagements.

Prior to his time at AFP/F, Hurtt raised millions of dollars for conservatives as a copywriter for Response America, a direct mail fundraising firm in Alexandria.  Before that, Matthew managed the campaign of then-State Senator Alex X. Mooney.

In 2009, Matthew joined the Leadership Institute staff as a Regional Field Coordinator, where he identified, recruited, and trained university students in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and his home state of Tennessee.  It was there that Hurtt began teaching grassroots activists how to organize for the conservative candidate or cause of their choice.

Since 2009, he has trained tens of thousands of activists at the LI headquarters in Arlington and across the country (and in Canada and Europe).

Matthew is involved in national Republican politics, serving as an at-large delegate to both the 2012 and 2016 Republican National Conventions.  Since 2013, Hurtt has served as a special assistant to Virginia’s Republican National Committeeman, Morton Blackwell, at the Republican National Committee’s regular meetings.

Hurtt has been published in numerous outlets and has appeared on local, national, and international television and radio as a pro-liberty activist. He resides in Arlington, Virginia.

What moment or opportunity in your life played the most significant part in getting you to where you are today?

On Friday, May 19th and Monday, May 22nd, 2009, I received two calls from Leadership Institute offering me a job. It was right after college graduation. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I had never lived further than 15 minutes from my parents. And I was terrified. I took the job, and everything I have done since has been because I took that chance. The ability to see an opportunity, get past the discomfort, and make a decision in that moment in 2009 laid the foundation for my career.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in your career so far?

 Uncertainty. From the uncertainty of taking a job after college, 660 miles from home, to the uncertainty of identifying each successive opportunity after my first job at Leadership Institute in 2009. Each successive opportunity was built upon the skills developed in the preceding role and the network I developed along the way.

From Leadership Institute to campaign manager – a relationship I developed through LI.

From campaign manager to direct mail – a relationship with the candidate’s brother & skills I developed on the campaign.

From direct mail to Americans for Prosperity – a relationship I developed at LI and skills I developed as guest faculty at LI and campaign manager.

From Americans for Prosperity back to LI – a relationship I maintained with LI and a professional network I developed throughout my career.

What piece of work or accomplishment are you most proud of?

My single greatest accomplishment is the network I’ve built throughout my professional career journey. The ability to identify allies with whom I can collaborate, mentors for myself and others, opportunities and connections for those looking for work, and strategic partners to work together.

In your words, what motivates your belief in freedom?

I believe, fundamentally, that every person can achieve their full potential – if given the opportunity and government gets out of the way. In every job I’ve had and in my political activism and engagement, I have fought to get government out of the way and connect people with the ideas, policies, and tools to achieve their potential.

What do you believe is the greatest challenge facing America today?

The greatest challenge facing America today is that both major parties seem to believe government should be used to punish their political opponents. Governments should be established to prevent plunder; however, both major parties use government to punish their opponents and reward their allies.

What is the next big goal or project you’re working on? How can the AF community help? 

My biggest goal is connecting more professionals with career opportunities that make the most sense to them – through Leadership Institute’s ConservativeJobs.com and direct placement opportunities to providing training and content that helps professionals level-up in their current role or land a new one. To that end, the AF community is uniquely positioned to help connect trained professionals with job opportunities and networking events, as well as serve as guest faculty or presenters for Leadership Institute Careers training and other programming.

The single biggest project is LI’s “What Do You Do?” podcast – one-hour conversations with successful movement professionals that highlight lessons learned, successes and setbacks, and career moves that made a difference. Many AF members have interesting and unique stories to tell that could help a jobseeker identify a career pathway that works for them.

What advice do you have for those who want to advance liberty and make a difference in our society?

Show up. Work hard. Ask for additional responsibilities. And when you see an opportunity to level-up, even if it makes you uncomfortable, do it. Embrace the discomfort. Take a chance.

What are some hobbies/side gigs/secret skills no one knows about?

I’m a semi-retired karaoke’r. In the mid-2010s, I built a 100+ person weekly networking (karaoke) event called Liberty Karaoke that was *the* go-to networking event for pro-liberty young professionals. I’d help kick-start a networking community like that again.

Much of my “spare” time these days is focused on local, national, and international television and other media appearances, generally taking the pro-liberty position on an issue to a broader audience while developing a “brand” for myself.

What are you watching/reading right now?

I listen to a lot of audiobooks – most recently, “A Revolution of Common Sense,” by Scott Jennings, “107 Days,” by Kamala Harris, and “American Impresario,” a biography about William F. Buckley, Jr. by Lawrence Perelman. I recently finished Ted Lasso on Apple TV+.

Last question: What does winning this award mean to you?

Winning this award is a recognition of the importance of developing relationships and connections across the liberty movement – from policy wonks at think tanks to policymakers on Capitol Hill to activists and advocates in D.C. and across the country.