Matt grew up in Salem, Massachusetts; in 1987, he graduated from Colby College, where he majored in biology. He subsequently studied ocean policy and coastal-land-use policy at the University of Rhode Island, but left that career path upon graduation for an editing job at WoodenBoat magazine in Brooklin. He has been the magazine’s editor since 1993, and part-owner of WoodenBoat Publications, the magazine’s parent company, since 2022. He and his wife, Holly, live in Penobscot with their three children, and spend as much time as they can in the woods and on the water.