Matthew Cortland
Senior Fellow, Data for Progress
Senior Advisor, Little Lobbyists
previously: Policy Director, Ady Barkan's Be a Hero
[they/them]
Matthew became a lawyer by necessity. Now they use their training in public health and law to help others.
When Matthew was an undergraduate, their health insurer tried to kill them — and a lawyer saved their life. That was the moment they realized the power of the law to save and improve the lives of chronically ill & disabled people. So they pursued a top-shelf education in policy and power, and how to wield it.
Over Matthew’s career, they’ve helped individuals, driven public comment campaigns, and designed and launched public health messages that reached millions of Americans on a shoestring budget. They’ve consulted on a wide range of policy and messaging projects for members of the House, Senate, and executive branch from the White House to HHS and SSA.
They have extensive experience in polling, education, messaging and influencing, advocacy, liaising with groups of professionals (e.g. pediatricians), and of course policy and advocacy on the Hill.
And their background means they give a great interview.
Their press clips include
,
,
,
,
and
.
CV at a Glance
Areas of focus:
-
Public health policy, especially for disabled & chronically ill Americans
-
Polling and influencing public opinion on public health policy
-
Driving action from the public (e.g. commenting campaigns)
-
Communicating and messaging public health information to the public
-
Interfacing with and advising electeds and government officials on public health policy and its impacts
Organizations worked with:
-
Ady Barkan’s Be a Hero (Policy Director)
-
Data for Progress (Senior Fellow)
-
Little Lobbyists (Senior Advisor)
Hill experience:
Collaborated with and advised members of Congress (House and Senate), Democratic presidential candidates, officials at the White House, HHS and SSA on policy, messaging, and action.
Details available upon request.
Education
Matthew’s graduate training in public health is from Boston University, and legal training is from George Mason University School of Law.
Press Clips
Disability Rights Florida
30th September 2024
You First Podcast: Data & Disability - with Matthew Cortland
Truth or Fiction?
26th May 2023
‘Eugenicist Victim Blaming’: Disability Experts Criticize Story Painting COVID-19 as Near ‘Endemic’ - by Arturo Garcia
MSNBC.com
22nd May 2023
Opinion | It’s time to stop comparing Dianne Feinstein to John Fetterman - By Eric Garcia
HuffPost
22nd May 2023
The Important Difference Between SNAP And Food Stamps – By Arthur Delaney
WGBH
17th May 2023
Immunocompromised patients feel unsafe as Boston hospitals drop universal masking - by Sarah Betancourt
Boston Business Journal
12th May 2023
MGB changes new mask policy after protests from disability advocates - by Cassie McGrath
Prevention
20th March 2023
What Invisible Disabilities Are - and Why They Matter by Lizz Schumer
STLtoday.com
20th March 2023
Parents of patients at St. Louis transgender center fear privacy breaches, file complaints - by Colleen Schrappen
HuffPost
8th March 2023
New York Mayor Asks Shops To Require Customers To Remove Masks Upon Entry – By Shruti Rajkumar
NPR
7th March 2023
NYC Mayor Eric Adams is telling stores to have customers remove their face masks – By Bill Chappell
Truthout
3rd March 2023
Republicans Pressured Walgreens Into Not Selling Abortion Pills in States Where They’re Legal - By Sharon Zhang
Time
31st January 2023
Without Evusheld, Immunocompromised People Are on Their Own Against COVID-19 - By Jamie Ducharme
The Philadelphia Inquirer
31st January 2023
What does the end of the pandemic public health emergency mean for you - By Jason Laughlin
The Philadelphia Inquirer
6th December 2022
Disabled Philadelphians fear Musk’s Twitter purchase will cost them a unique digital haven - By Jason Laughlin
HuffPost
25th October 2022
Biden Urges Americans To Get Vaccinated Ahead Of Winter COVID-19 Surge - by Sanjana Karanth
In These Times
16th August 2022
Monkeypox Is a Workers' Rights Issue - by S.E. Smith
The Washington Post
8th August 2022
Abortion bans complicate access to drugs for cancer, arthritis, even ulcers - by Katie Shepherd & Frances Stead Sellers
Bloomberg.com
4th August 2022
Telehealth Has Failed ADHD Patients, But They Aren’t Giving Up - By Ike Swetlitz
Los Angeles Times
31st July 2022
This DIY box helps clear indoor air of the coronavirus. Why aren't more people using them? - by Emily Alpert Reyes
STAT
22nd July 2022
As new variant spreads, a crucial drug to protect the most vulnerable goes vastly underused - by Jason Mast
NPR
14th July 2022
Many try to return to normal from COVID, but disabled people face a different reality - By Shruti Rajkumar
The Atlantic
27th June 2022
America Is Sliding Into the Long Pandemic Defeat - By Ed Yong
POLITICO
25th June 2022
Biden officials to keep private the names of hospitals where patients contracted Covid - by Rachael Levy
The Washington Post
6th June 2022
How long covid could change the way we think about disability - By Frances Stead Sellers
ABC News
27th April 2022
No Americans should die of COVID-19 with treatments available, experts argue - By Arielle Mitropoulos
Vox
22nd April 2022
How to think about masking on planes, trains, and buses right now - By Rachel Wilkerson Miller
The Daily Beast
21st April 2022
Biden Can Still Navigate the Politics of Mask Mandates, But It Won’t Be Easy - by Wajahat Ali
ABC News
15th April 2022
As COVID-19 cases rise, disability advocates say CDC isn't doing enough - By Arielle Mitropoulos
Time
15th April 2022
Disabled Americans Push to Keep Accessible Pandemic Policies - by Abigail Abrams
Los Angeles Times
10th April 2022
Back to normal? For this family, the COVID-19 threat hasn't gone away - by Emily Alpert Reyes
Scientific American
31st March 2022
A Simple Solution Would Make COVID Antivirals More Accessible, Pharmacists Say - By Sara Reardon
POLITICO
24th March 2022
CDC updates Covid-19 guidance to allow patients wear N95s - by Rachael Levy
KFF Health News
17th March 2022
It Was Already Hard to Find Evusheld, a Covid Prevention Therapy. Now It’s Even Harder - By Hannah Recht
1A
17th March 2022
What does a 'return to normal' mean for the immunocompromised?
POLITICO
13th March 2022
As masks come off, vulnerable Americans feel left behind - by Adam Cancryn & Sarah Owermohle
POLITICO
28th February 2022
Health workers’ vaccine mandate undone by religious exemptions - By Rachael Levy and Megan Messerly
PBS.org
24th January 2022
Amanpour and Company | Immunocompromised Americans' Terrifying Reality During COVID | Season 2022 | PBS
NPR
14th January 2022
Disability rights advocates meet with CDC director Walensky
The Christian Science Monitor
27th October 2020
For those with disabilities, shift to remote work has opened doors (video)