About Matthew
updated 2/2014: Matthew Cortland was born and raised in Southern New Jersey. He graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and with honors from Rutgers University where he earned a B.A. in Art History and interdisciplinary studies, with a minor in Italian Studies and a Certificate in Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies. Matthew’s interdisciplinary major was designedsurrounding a three-year ethnographic research study of an all-male drum and bugle corps, where he participated as a drum major while also conducting field research involving the construction of language, communication in a closed community, and the enactment of masculinity. Matthew is a Teach for America fellow, currently teaching reading and serving as Department Chair at Miami Northwestern Senior High School. While working with theschool’s struggling readers to understand the foundations of literacy, Matthew completed a M.S.Ed. in Education and Social Change from the University of Miami. Matthew plans to continue working in education through emerging educational technologies with the aim of making learning more individualized and targeted. Matthew serves on several boardsincluding the New Jersey Governor’s Council for Medical Research and Treatment of Autism,the Theta Delta Chi Educational Foundation, and Theta Delta Chi Grand Lodge.
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