Matt Smith

Chief Operating Officer


I came to Mazzetti after completing a Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where I spent a year exploring how planning, design, and construction processes can better serve small and rural communities. From 2015 to 2023, I served as Managing Director at MASS Design Group, where I oversaw global operations and helped guide the organization’s mission-driven growth. In 2019, I co-led the launch of MASS’s Santa Fe Studio, which focuses on rural and Native-serving projects. I’ve also had the privilege of serving as a Visiting Scholar at Montana State University—my alma mater—where I taught and researched hybrid organizations as alternative models of design practice.

Originally from the Rocky Mountain West, I’m deeply committed to rural community development. I co-founded Building Common Ground, a collective focused on strengthening social infrastructure and supporting rural leadership across the U.S.

I hold a Master’s in Development Practice from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in Business Management and Philosophy from Montana State University.

My Flipside

Outside of work, you’ll most often find me in the backcountry.

I enjoy climbing, fishing, hunting, trail running, or snowboarding.

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