A Milestone For Matt: Celebrating 20 Years at EAST

Matt Dozier is a man who goes by several different titles: CEO, boss, facilitator, dad, Batpa (a combination of “grandpa” and “Batman”). For two decades, he’s given everything he has to EAST - and more importantly - to the students in it. Matt has created a profound impact during his two decades at EAST, and it’s a certainty that EAST as we know it would not exist without him.

His career in education began as most do...in the classroom. Matt taught speech and English until 1998, when he was exposed to the success of the EAST program that was plioting at Greenbrier High School. There, Matt met Tim Stephenson, the founder of EAST, and began facilitating an EAST class of his own before beginning work at the EAST Initiative nonprofit in 2001.

Now here we are 20 years later, and much has changed since the dawn of the century. But one thing that hasn’t is Matt himself.

“What I really respect about Matt is that he has a great way of connecting with people from all different walks of life,” said John Riggs, the Chair of the EAST Board of Directors. “What I mean by that is if it’s a room full of kids, he’s on their level and is talking to them and they love it. If it’s a room full of geeks talking about computers or CEOs, he’s able to communicate with them and in my experience, that’s pretty rare.”

Riggs credits Matt as being a key innovator in education, saying Matt cares about the students of EAST more than any other success.

“A part of Matt’s legacy is that he’s been out front in not only STEM education, but nontraditional education,” Riggs said. “He tries to meet kids where they are rather than try to dictate how the kids learn. If we had more educators in Arkansas like that I feel like our education system in Arkansas would be incredible.”

But Matt wasn’t always the CEO of EAST. He took that mantle in 2007 when the future of EAST was in jeopardy, and guided it to its most successful point to date.

“He, as I understand it, didn’t have a strong desire to be President and CEO,” said Jerry Prince, EAST’s Vice President of IT. “But he was the glue during that period of time that really held the organization together. It’s not just passion, but there is that absolute strong desire above everything else that EAST is going to not just survive but thrive, regardless of what might come its way.”

Allison Nicholas worked hand in hand with Matt during her time with First Orion, and she still heavily recruits EAST alumni in her new role with Metova. She also credits Matt as being a leader in Arkansas education, spearheading the training for the best of the next generation.

“When I think of EAST students and the work they’ve done with the help of Matt and his leadership, I think of them as leaders of the nation,” Nicholas said. “Because of their great foundation in their education, the confidence building, and their understanding of diversity and the importance of those experiences.”

Echoing the sentiments of her peers, Nicholas says her favorite quality of Matt’s is his ability to be so down to Earth with students, especially during his antics at EAST Conference.

“What I love more than anything about Matt is how he interacts with students,” Nicholas said. “When he’s looking at their project proposals, wearing goofy glasses with them in the photo booth, those things to me represent Matt more than anything. That down to earth, compassionate person who really loves his students.”

The group of people that has truly seen how much Matt has put into EAST is his family. His daughter, Lauren, has spent her entire life around EAST and is not only proud of the work Matt has done at EAST but is also a proud EAST alum.

“[He] has put his heart and soul into EAST for as long as I can remember,” Lauren said. “It has even greatly impacted our family. Megan [Lauren’s sister] and I are proud EAST alumni and I’m super thankful for an amazing role model like [him].”