Matt Plourd

Background

About Matt Plourd

Drawn to the art of storytelling at a young age as a way to communicate both the realities of the complex world we live in and the longing for the world we hope to build, my love of the theatre, as well as of literature, music, and art more broadly, has naturally developed over the years into a deep commitment to relational organizing, collective empowerment, and local advocacy. My advocacy, grounded in communities I’ve called home in New York City and throughout the state of Connecticut, has focused mainly on averting the climate crisis and centering issues of environmental justice and economic inequality. Mobilized initially by the contextualization of my family’s own painful experience fleeing destruction in the wake of Hurricane Maria within Puerto Rico's long history of climate-related disaster at the intersections of race, colonialism, and poverty, I've been proud to foster deep intergenerational, cross-class, interfaith, and cross-cultural bonds and collaboration while advocating for more equitable, just, and sustainable policy. This past May, I was proud to graduate Summa Cum Laude from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science, Environmental Studies, and Dramatic Arts, earning the highest marks for my independently constructed senior thesis project which sought to explore a deeper understanding of the emotional and psychological impacts of the climate crisis and disaster relief policies, particularly on our sense of trust and perceptions of democratic institutions. In the future, I hope to continue studying the complex and urgent relationship between democracy and climate change, as well as to work more directly on bridging gaps in administrative and legislative responsiveness by implementing new and exciting ways to strengthen community engagement, and, ultimately, creating policy that responds to our changing natural and social world that is more reflective of the faces that it serves.