Wiki Biography / Profile Background
Introduction:
- Matt Duss is an American individual, who serves as the Executive Vice President of the Center for International Policy. He is a strong proponent of a moral foreign policy based on human rights and solidarity.
Personal Life and Interesting Facts:
- Born in 1972, Matt Duss grew up in Nyack, New York, but his childhood was deeply influenced by his time spent in Brooklyn with his grandparents. His parents’ family were refugees from Ukraine who later resettled in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. His father was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany after World War II.
- Growing up in a small Evangelical community nestled within the otherwise liberal Rockland County, New York, his upbringing was a blend of contrasting influences. While the community held strong Evangelical beliefs, his parents’ approach to Christianity was notably progressive. They embodied the care ethic central to Jesus’s teachings in Matthew Chapter 25, emphasizing empathy and compassion for all individuals. This foundation of progressive values shaped his understanding of social justice and community activism.
- At the age of ten, his family embarked on a transformative journey to the Philippines, where both of his parents worked in a processing center for Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees fleeing the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Through this, he was exposed to different cultures and the complexities of global conflicts.
- The conversations Matt heard around the table in Greenpoint, living around Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian immigrants, living in the Philippines during the Ferdinand Marcos era, witnessing the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino, and being present during the Korean Air Lines Flight 007 incident, all against the backdrop of the US-Soviet Cold War, provided him with a unique perspective on world geo-political events.
Education, Career, Salary and Net Worth :
- Matt Duss holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Washington.
- After completing his education, Matt has had a rich and varied career in international relations. He is currently the Executive Vice President at the Center for International Policy (since September 2023, based in Washington, DC.).
- Prior to that, he worked as a Visiting Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from October 2022 to September 2023.
- His journey into foreign policy began earlier, notably as the Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders from February 2017 to November 2022, including Bernie’s 2020 presidential campaign.
- Matt was also the past President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace from August 2014 to January 2017.
- From February 2008 to July 2014, Duss worked as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress.
- In many interviews, Matt has shared insights into his progressive outlook on foreign policy. He stresses the significance of fostering unity and understanding the wider repercussions of U.S. actions on global stability.
- One of Duss’s key areas of focus is advocating for a more ethical approach to U.S. foreign relations, including reevaluating alliances with authoritarian regimes and prioritizing human rights.
- Matt envisions a more robust infrastructure for progressive foreign policy, including think tanks and institutions that can articulate alternative perspectives.