Matthew Chase
Matthew Chase has served as the Executive Director of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) and the NADO Research Foundation since October 2003.
From March 1997 to August 2000, he served as the association's Director of Legislative Affairs until he was promoted to Deputy Executive Director. Prior to joining NADO, he was the Chief Operating Officer and Membership Services Director of the Professional Managers Association in Washington, DC.
Chase has extensive advocacy experience with federal community, economic and rural development programs, including successful campaigns to reauthorize the Economic Development Administration (EDA) in 1998 and 2004, establish the Delta Regional Authority in the early 2000s and preserve annual funding for core rural development programs under USDA. He remains at the forefront in advancing federal policies to enhance rural transportation planning and services. In addition, he is a regular presenter on the impact of federal budget and appropriations trends on small metropolitan and rural America.
As the chief administrative officer of the NADO Research Foundation, he oversees a diverse set of projects and programs. These programs include the Economic Development Finance Service (EDFS), a subscription-based service providing information, training and networking opportunities for small business development finance professionals; the Rural Brownfields Awareness Project (EPA funded); the Rural Transportation Capacity Building Project (FHWA funded); a new initiative with EPA to promote regional approaches to environmental stewardship and economic development; and a new national center for regional transportation and economic development.
Chase is the author of the NADO publication, All Politics is Local: A Guide to Grassroots Action. He is the co-author of numerous publications and research reports, including: Regional Approaches to Homeland Security Planning and Preparedness (2005); State Associations of Regional Councils of Government: Insights into Organizational Structures, Governance Models and Strategic Initiatives (2005); eForum Results: The Pulse of Small Town and Rural America (2004); GIS Technology: Enhancing Regional Planning and Development (2004); Federal-State Regional Commissions: Regional Approaches to Local Economic Development (2003); and Connecting to Today's Rural America (1999). In addition, he is a contributor to NADO's highly regarded analysis of the President's annual budget proposal.
He holds a bachelor's degree from Hartwick College in Upstate New York and a master's degree in political management from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. He is a native of the Glens Falls/Lake George region in the foothills of the Adirondacks in Upstate New York. He is a founding member of the National Rural Network, a coalition of more than 50 national associations interested in rural policy, and serves as NADO's liaison to the Congressional Rural Caucus. He has been a member of the American Society of Association Executives and the American League of Lobbyists. He has also served on the Alumni Steering Committee for the Graduate School of Political Management. He currently serves on advisory boards for Purdue University's Center for Regional Development, the New England Transportation Institute and Museum and the Alliance for Public Technology.