Matt Best
Research, Operations, and business development Manager
Matt Best is a research, operations, and business development manager for Motivate Lab, where his work focuses on project management, data, organizational and people processes, and building partnerships. He holds a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from James Madison University, where he completed an Honors thesis on the relationships between motivation and performance in elite youth soccer players under the supervision of fellow lab members Kenn Barron, Chris Hulleman, and Yoi Tibbetts. He has worked in the fields of motivation and education science for a decade across three continents, including a partnership with the World Bank.
Cultivating authentic, lasting connections with people throughout the world is central to Matt's life. A quote that encapsulates one of his values that ties into this central part of Matt’s life is: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” He has traveled (and couchsurfed) in various countries in Europe and the Americas, where he has spoken about his work and built relationships with various sport and educational psychologists. He is a fluent speaker of Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.