Vice President of Research and Policy

Mat Despard

Mat is Vice President of Research and Policy with SaverLife, leading efforts to deliver actionable insights into the root causes of financial inequality and influence meaningful public policy and private sector change to improve the lives of people and families living on low-to-moderate incomes in the U.S.

Before joining SaverLife in 2024, Mat spent 17 years in academia. He taught graduate courses in social work and business, advised PhD students, coordinated a Nonprofit Leadership Certificate program, and conducted research about household financial security (e.g., emergency savings, credit health, student debt, refundable tax credits, workplace benefits) with appointments at UNC Chapel Hill, University of Michigan, Washington University in St. Louis, and UNC Greensboro. 

Mat has worked on several savings-related projects including the American Dream Demonstration, Refund-to-Savings, YouthSave, Mapping Financial Opportunity, Financial Solutions Lab, Common Cents Lab, and Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19, incorporating behavioral science, experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational designs, geospatial analysis, and advanced statistical analysis. He served on the Academic Research Council of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from 2021-2023 and has consulted or partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Financial Health Network, Brookings Institution, Prosperity Now, Neighborhood Trust, Filene Research Institute, and the Purchaser Business Group on Health. Before his academic career, Mat worked for 14 years in and with nonprofit organizations focused on access to health care, early care and education, and financial empowerment, including launching Individual Development Account (IDA) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs. 

He has published 7 book chapters, 66 working papers, reports, and briefs, and 59 peer-reviewed journal articles in publications such as the Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Consumer Policy, Journal of Economics, Race, & Policy, Behavioral Science & Policy, Journal of Financial Counseling & Planning, Work, Employment, & Society, Social Forces, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, and Compensation & Benefits Review. His work with colleagues has been cited in the Atlantic Monthly, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, Newsweek, Huffington Post, The Hill, Marketplace, CBS News, Forbes Magazine, Money, Axios, The Times of London, Consumer Reports, and CNBC and in a U.S. Supreme Court case and U.S. Senate hearing. Mat’s awards include induction as a Fellow in the Society for Social Work & Research, exemplary paper awards from the Association for Financial Counseling, Planning, and Education, National Endowment for Financial Education, CFP Board, and Association for Public Data Users. He received his MSW and PhD from UNC-Chapel Hill and his BS in Psychology from Virginia Tech.

Mat lives in Chapel Hill, NC with his family where he enjoys hiking, mountain biking, playing drums and piano, listening to music on KEXP.org, cheering for the Tar Heels, and doting on his dog and cat. 

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