Matthew (Matt) Bott has worked in the field of cyber and technology diplomacy for nearly a decade, serving in diplomatic positions for the United States both overseas and domestically.  In these roles, Matt helps coordinate international diplomatic activities to advance American cyber and technology leadership, together with allies and partners.  He is deeply involved in the U.S. Department of State’s wholesale efforts to integrate and elevate cyber/tech diplomacy across all elements of foreign policy, equipping diplomats with the tools and skills needed to maintain long-term American technology leadership and working to confront threats and adversaries in cyberspace.   In his current role, he leads the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy’s (CDP) legislative affairs portfolio, working with congressional stakeholders to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives on a range of cyber, digital, and technology topics.  He is also involved in a number of projects with the Foreign Service Institute, the Secretary’s Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies, and other partners including work linking U.S. tech diplomacy with domestic cyber, technology, and research hubs. 

Matt previously served as the designated Cyber and Digital Policy Officer on the Political/Economic Section for U.S. Embassy The Hague, in the Netherlands where he coordinated multiple diplomatic, national security, and economic policy initiatives and worked to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives on topics such as cyber incident response, deterrence, technology partnerships, counter disinformation, election security, and other topics.  He also served as a Counter Hybrid Threats Support Team (CHST) reserve position for NATO.  He was deeply involved in securing and executing the 2019 Global Entrepreneurship Summit bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, and dignitaries from over 150 countries to celebrate innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology partnerships.  Prior to this role, Matt served as the CEO for a Chamber of Commerce in the Seattle region where we he led various economic development, business competitiveness, tourism, and political activities.  He has served on the boards of various economic development, community leadership, civic, and other organizations including the Western Association of Chamber Executives, Leadership Eastside (Bellevue, WA), and Rotary.  He also served as Chairman of the Board for the American School of The Hague in Wassenaar, Netherlands.  

Matthew is a proud 2001 graduate of Boise State University with a double major in political science and criminal justice.  He graduated with high honors, was named a Top Ten Scholar and served student government president.  He also holds a Masters in Business Administration degree from the George Washington University and a Masters in Strategic Communications from Washington State University.  Matt lives in Virginia with his wife Jaime (Thompson) Bott (also a proud BSU graduate) and three children.