About Me

Welcome to the portfolio website of Matt McCabe, currently a chief analyst at the Rhode Island Office of Regulatory Reform. I work on a team that reviews all new executive branch regulations, looks for opportunities to reform current regulations, and provides policy analysis and forecasting for the state Office of Management and Budget. As someone with interest and training in both history and public policy, I enjoy working on issues that require both a firm grasp of the underlying data, and an appreciation for the human realities behind that data.

Resume

Education

Brown University | Providence, RI
Master of Public Policy, May 2014

• Fellow, Applied Social, Economic, and Regulatory Analysis Division (ASERA), September 2013-present
• A. Alfred Taubman Scholar, May 2013

Brown University | Providence, RI
Bachelor of Arts, History, May 2009

Harvard Extension School | Cambridge, MA
Graduate coursework, 2010-2012

Work Experience

Rhode Island Office of Regulatory Reform
Chief of Research & Analysis | June 2015–Present

• Manages state regulatory submission system that all executive branch agencies use to submit regulations for review
• Analyzes regulatory submissions from agencies for societal benefits and costs; briefs senior staff and other internal stakeholders on regulatory issues; works with agencies to change regulations when needed
• Assists the Office of Revenue Analysis with biennial revenue forecasting, and participates in the Revenue Estimating Conference
• Provides analytical support to the Office of Management and Budget, including designing initiatives found in the governor's budget, participating in biennial revenue forecasting, and leading projects to reduce regulatory burdens

Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Policy Analyst | July 2014–June 2015

• Worked on first state health plan (focused on behavioral health) that was conducted under current Massachusetts health reform efforts
  • Work included creation of work plans, interpretation of utilization data, mapping of providers, and production of final deliverables presented to a Health Planning Council made up of department heads and health policy experts
• Helped organize and staff meetings (about topics such as health planning and long-term care) attended by internal and external stakeholders; took minutes and developed work plans from those meetings
• Conducted policy outreach - for example, telephone outreach to inform stakeholders about new end-of-life regulations
• Designed and implemented new web pages to inform public about ongoing department initiatives
• Participated in data gathering and policy discussions about oversight of health care facility safety standards, including invasive cardiac services and rest homes
• Analyzed data and worked to improve data quality of state Trauma Registry

Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance
Web & Editorial Coordinator | October 2009–August 2012

• Administered program WordPress blog
• Coordinated editorial process; worked with editors and contributors to gather, prepare, and publish new content daily; publicized blog content via social media
• Researched and edited content for program faculty, including journal articles, research papers, op-eds, annual reports, and Congressional testimony
• Maintained program website and other associated sites, designed new website for an affiliated project

Consulting

White House Office of Management and Budget
Capstone Project Team Member | September 2013-May 2014

• Part of a Brown team that worked on the President’s directive to modernize infrastructure permitting
• Provided recommendations to help guide federal agencies when assessing environmental and community outcomes in infrastructure permitting

City of Everett
ASERA Member | September 2013-March 2014

• Member of a team of Brown students and faculty that advised Everett on their water and sewer enterprise fund
• Prepared a new fee schedule based on projections of water and sewer capital and operating costs

Internships

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Professional Development Intern | June 2013-August 2013

• Took the lead on the creation of project charters and work plans for department projects
• Designed a new application and registration process for professional development providers
• Wrote policy memos analyzing Massachusetts state law and regulation, as well other states’ policies
• Redesigned professional development team website

Arts Allies
Data Analyst and Researcher | May 2013-September 2013

• Worked with a burgeoning public-private organization to evaluate the current state of arts education in Providence
• Designed a survey for principals and teachers; analyzed survey results in a report that was presented to the Providence School Board

Center for Collaborative Education
Research Intern| February 2013–May 2013

• Provided research support in project examining public school performance assessments in New England states
• Collected and analyzed assessment-related policy documents, conducted cross-state analysis
• Coded and analyzed policy documents and other material, including interview transcripts

Skills

Specialties: Policy analysis, data analysis, program evaluation, writing, editing, research, HTML, CSS, WordPress, web design, technical support

Software: Stata, SPSS, GIS, Microsoft Office, Access, Adobe Creative Suite

Other Activities

Brown Political Review
Online Director and Columnist | 2012-2013

• Supervised staff of 10-15 writers, ensured daily publication of high-quality political opinion content

Swearer Center Elementary After-School Programs
Social Studies Club Volunteer | 2012-2013

• Weekly volunteer at two elementary schools in Providence over two semesters
• Supervised fifteen students in grades 3-5, assisted in homework
• Helped lead lessons about social studies topics

Boy Scouts of America | 1999–2005

• Troop 2 Lonsdale, Lincoln, RI
• Achieved Eagle Scout rank

Contact

matthewianmccabe@gmail.com

Linkedin Profile

@MattIanMcCabe

Writing

Print

2010 Harvard Summer Review

• "To Beard or Not to Beard"
  A personal essay that was selected for publication from among work produced by Harvard Summer School students

Providence Journal

• "Reform payday lending" | May 2013
  Op-ed about the push to cap interest rates on payday loans in Rhode Island
• "Bravo for the 'Providence Talks' project" | March 2013
  Letter to the editor concerning a Providence childhood education initiative

Brown Political Review

• "Fixing Childhood Obesity, Imperfectly" | March 2013
  A look at proposals to curb childhood obesity, and what they say about the policymaking process
• "Gambling on Rhode Island's Future" | October 2012
  A analysis of the proposal to add table games to Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI

Online

Brown Political Review

Columnist for BrownPoliticalReview.org | September 2012-present
Sample columns:

• "Making Sense of the Senseless"
• "A Liberal’s Argument for Romney"
• "Is Gun Control the Answer? Maybe, But Do It Anyway"

Brown University Library's Curio Blog

• "Rhode Island’s First Political Rivalry" | March 2013
  Post exploring Rhode Island history through one of the objects I digitized while working at the Brown University Library

Projects

Here are some sample projects I've worked on during my professional and graduate career:

Policy Solutions Challenge USA | December 2012-March 2013

Team leader on the Brown University Policy Solutions Challenge team. Team tackled the issue of childhood obesity, and created a policy report and presentation targeted at policymakers. Team placed first in regional competition, and third in national competition.

BRYTE Program Evaluation | March 2013-May 2013

Part of a team that created logic models and program evaluation design for Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment (BRYTE). Evaluation design stressed feasibility in light of BRYTE's limited resources. Organization intends to undertake evaluation using our design soon.

RI Payday Lending Reform | March 2013-May 2013

As part of a class project in the Brown public policy master's program, worked on strategic communication efforts for RI Payday Lending Reform. The organization is dedicated to passing a bill in the Rhode Island legislature that brings down interest rates on payday loans from 260% to 36%. Formulated strategic messages, helped with social media outreach, and created pamphlets for the organization. Also participated in a lobby day at the Rhode Island State House, trying to convince legislators to support the bill.

Web Design

Here are some web design projects I've been involved with, either as self-employed designer or as an employee of a larger organization.

Massachusetts Department of Education Professional Development Team Site

Using Department of Education templates and standards, created new site for the Professional Development Team at the department. Worked with team members, advisory staff, and departmental IT staff to draft, approve, and publish site.

Valley Breeze

Designed navigation and page templates for home and interior pages of this northern Rhode Island weekly newspaper. Design went through several phases as the paper expanded to multiple towns and content systems changed. Site administrators have switched to using Drupal for content management, but retained my overall site design. Also designed some website ads for local businesses that appeared on the site.

HLS Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation

Acted as the web and editorial coordinator for this preexisting law blog at Harvard Law School. Helped increase site functionality, including adding sharing features, and improved search engine optimization. Traffic increased by over 200% during the three years I was there. Also worked to revamp editorial workflow to allow for publication of a greater amount of content.

Shareholder Right's Project

Created simple site design for a new program at Harvard Law School. Configured hosting for a new subdomain at the law school. Worked with various stakeholders to ensure that the site was frequently updated.

First Readings 2009

Used Brown Library template to create a unique site for the First Readings program aimed at incoming Brown freshmen. Created interactive timeline with content relevant to that year's book. Gathered library resources in one location to aid incoming students.