Matt Gress is Vice President of Government Affairs for Americans For Fair Treatment, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing public sector employees with resources to defend their constitutional rights related to union membership. In this role, Matt leads nationwide advocacy efforts to advance AFFT’s mission of protecting public sector workers from undue union influence.
In addition to his work with AFFT, Matt serves as a State Representative in the Arizona Legislature. He chairs the House Education Committee and is Vice-Chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Prior to his legislative service, Matt was Arizona’s State Budget Director under former Governor Doug Ducey, where he played a key role in authoring the largest tax cut in the state’s history and expanding educational freedom for thousands of children and families.
With over a decade of experience in public policy, budgeting, and regulatory affairs, Matt has also served as a policy advisor at the Arizona Corporation Commission, the state’s utility regulator, and as a fiscal analyst for the nonpartisan Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
From 2017 to 2021, Matt was elected to the Governing Board of the Madison Elementary School District, where he advocated to keep schools open during COVID-19 and supported parental choice in education. He began his career as a public school teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, teaching 10th- and 11th-grade English.
Matt holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University.