Speaking & Recognition

Awards, press & appearances

A consolidated view of the recognition the work has earned — an industry Thea Award, multiple Telly Awards, executive-producer film credits, board service, and selected press and podcast appearances.

Awards

Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement

Be Washington interactive theater · 2018

The Themed Entertainment Association’s top honor — the award the museum and attractions world knows.

Gold Telly Award

Mount Vernon Orientation Film · 2022

A 10:30 orientation film that replaced a 30-minute legacy production at the front door.

Gold Telly Award

Revolutionary War 4D Theater · 2018

A $3.5M reinvention of Mount Vernon’s second-most-visited attraction, with an original 4K film.

Three Telly Awards

Animated Short Film Series · 2015–2023

Four animated history films with Wide Awake Films, distributed across four streaming platforms.

SEGD Merit Award

Be Washington · Society for Experiential Graphic Design · 2019

A Global Design Awards honor in Digital Experiences for the interactive theater.

Film & Executive Producer credits

Executive Producer on Telly-winning short films — Yorktown: Now or Never, The Winter Patriots, A More Perfect Union, Washington’s War, and George Washington and the Pursuit of Religious Freedom, distributed on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, and Curiosity Stream.

View the credits on IMDb →  ·  See the short film series →

Boards & affiliations

Speaking

Upcoming Presidential Sites Summit 2026 · White House Historical Association Panelist on “Digital Frontiers: Integrating Technology for Post-250 Engagement,” with Elizabeth Merritt (American Alliance of Museums) and Stephen Platenberg (Cortina Productions) — 2026. Details → Matt Briney delivering a keynote at the ACC Summit 2025 Keynote American Conservation Coalition · ACC Summit 2025 Keynote on Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation legacy and the building of his presidential library (2025). Watch → Matt Briney speaking at the Empowered Cultural Institutions event in Atlanta Panel Microsoft · Empowered Cultural Institutions Atlanta panel on leveraging technology to preserve stories — June 2025. Details → Talk Osher Lifelong Learning Institute · University of Oregon “A Presidential Library for Theodore Roosevelt” — on the TR Library project, how the presidential-library system works, and what visitors will experience (Eugene & Zoom, January 2025). Details → Talk Preservation Maryland · Old Line State Summit “Augmented & Virtual Reality at Historic Sites” — conference session on Mount Vernon’s wearable AR tour (2019). Watch → Talk Museums and the Web 2015 “Help Us Improve George Washington’s Home” — presented Mount Vernon’s website for live expert critique in the conference Web Crit Room (2015). Details → Panel Tourism in a Post-Pandemic World Mount Vernon–Lee Chamber of Commerce webinar on regional tourism recovery and Mount Vernon’s COVID-19 response. Details →
Matt Briney presenting at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis Talk Republican National Convention · 2008 Presenting digital fundraising and advocacy work at the 2008 Republican National Convention (Emotive era).
Matt Briney presenting the Be Washington case study at the TEA Summit 2019 Case study TEA Summit 2019 · Anaheim Co-presented the Be Washington case study (Thea for Museum Experience on a Limited Budget) with Rob Shenk and Cortina Productions at the Themed Entertainment Association summit — April 2019. Details → Talk Texas Association of Museums “Audio Tours Post-Covid-19: Lessons Learned Based on Real-Time Data” — with Jeff Danziger (Guide-ID), on Mount Vernon’s audio-guide evolution. TAM annual meeting, San Antonio, April 25, 2023. Details → Talk Historic Chocolate Society 2024 Panelist on “Crisis Communications in an Era of Extreme Scrutiny,” with Mount Vernon, Stratford Hall, and Mars Wrigley — Washington, D.C., 2024. Details → Talk Washington Trail Summit “Envisioning the Past and the Future” — a presentation on Mount Vernon’s Washington’s World mapping project (2017). About the project →

Available for talks and panels on cultural-institution digital strategy, AI in the nonprofit sector, and audience & revenue growth. Get in touch about speaking →

In the press

As featured in The New Yorker The Washington Post Associated Press Reuters USA Today Voice of America C-SPAN The Washington Times WJLA ABC7 FOX 5 DC KFYR-TV Northern Virginia Magazine America’s Talking Places & Profiles

Mount Vernon

Feature Dogwood Quirky George Washington facts — setting the record straight on the viral “40-yard dash” myth (2023). Read → Feature Northern Virginia Magazine “Meet Aladdin the Camel” — Mount Vernon’s holiday tradition and Washington’s 1787 camel (2023). Read → Press Mount Vernon Gazette / Connection Quoted in “Historic Gum Springs Celebrates 190 Years” (2023). Read → Press Military Times On the challenge of portraying America’s first president on film (2023). Read → Press WTOP Big Presidents’ Day crowds at Mount Vernon (2023). Read → TV WJLA · 7News (ABC7 Washington) On-air Mount Vernon segments — the Colonial Market & Fair and Purple Heart Day (2022). Watch → TV WJLA · 7News A new exhibit at Mount Vernon (2022). Watch → Feature All Trails Lead to Ice Cream A cycling guide featuring the Mount Vernon Trail (2022). Read → Press The Washington Times On debates over interpretation at Mount Vernon and Monticello (2022). Read → Press FFXnow On community efforts to preserve historic Gum Springs, the freedmen’s community near Mount Vernon (2022). Read → Press Die Welt German-language feature on Mount Vernon’s interpretation of slavery (2022). Read → Press FFXnow Quoted on Mount Vernon’s mansion restoration and its post-pandemic visitation recovery (2022). Read → TV FOX 5 DC Mount Vernon spotlights travel and tourism in Fairfax County (2022). Watch → Press The New Yorker On the historical question of an enslaved Washington relative — Mount Vernon’s research and interpretation (2022). Read → Press WTOP Washington’s 290th birthday at Mount Vernon (2022). Read → Press Washington en Français French-language guide to visiting Mount Vernon. Read → Press Harper’s Magazine ‘State of Nature.’ Read → Press Voice of America Mount Vernon aglow for Christmas (2021). Read → Press Voice of America On historic sites telling the fuller truth about enslavement (2021). Read → Press The Washington Times Selected coverage of George Washington, Mount Vernon, and its history and preservation. Read → Feature Visit Fairfax Among the Fairfax County tourism leaders on “the power of travel” for National Travel & Tourism Week (2021). Read → Fact check Reuters Debunking a fabricated George Washington ‘right to bear arms’ quote (2021). Read → Press Washington Business Journal How D.C.-area museums kept teaching through COVID-19 (2020). Read → Press The Washington Post On Mount Vernon’s socially distanced Independence Day fireworks — limited ticketing to keep guests safe on the lawn (2020). Read → Press Voice of America On Fourth of July fireworks amid the pandemic (2020). Read → Press USA Today On plantation tours evolving to center the experience of the enslaved (2020). Read → Press The Sidwell Horizon On Mount Vernon’s phased reopening. Read → Press Virginia Business Navigating the pandemic as one of the nation’s most-visited historic sites (2020). Read →

The Theodore Roosevelt Library in the news

As CCMO and spokesperson, leading press for a presidential library under construction — selected coverage:

TV The Dickinson Press ‘Good Morning America’ airs a live segment from the Library (2026). Read → Press North Dakota Monitor North Dakota helps communities mark America’s 250th birthday (2026). Read → Radio KFGO · For A Cause Broadcast interview on the Library’s July 4, 2026 opening and membership (2026). Listen → TV KFYR-TV (NBC, North Dakota) On the Library’s July 4, 2026 opening and what visitors will experience (2025). Watch → Press North Dakota Monitor The Library’s use of a $70M Bank of North Dakota line of credit (2025). Read → TV KX News ‘A Theodore Roosevelt library is opening soon’ — what visitors should know. Watch → TV KVRR · Connections Inside the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, one year before it opens (2025). Watch → Press St. Albert Gazette · AP A reconstructed road opens grand views at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, beside the Library. Read → Press The Dickinson Press Medora leaders on plans for the Library’s grand opening. Read → TV C-SPAN · Washington Journal Matt Briney on Washington Journal, discussing the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Watch → Radio AM 1100 ‘The Flag’ · The Steve Hallstrom Show Interview on the Library taking shape during construction in Medora. Listen → Feature Road Scholar ‘America’s newest presidential libraries.’ Read → Press InForum The Library launches a virtual event series. Read → TV Valley News Live · North Dakota Today Morning-show segment on the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (2024). Watch → Radio Prairie Public The Library reaches a construction milestone as loop-road work nears completion (2024). Listen → Press Associated Press Federal cost-share eyed for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (2024). Read → Press States Newsroom A bill to set a federal cost-share and public access to the Library’s artifacts (2024). Read →

Press releases I issued

As CCMO, leading press for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (2024–present) — releases distributed via the wire services — plus all Mount Vernon releases from April 2020 to 2024.

Release Grand-opening celebrations · July 4, 2026 Announcing the Library’s opening weekend on America’s 250th — TR Library (ACCESS Newswire). Read → Release Doris Kearns Goodwin joins the board Doris Kearns Goodwin and Beth Laski elected trustees (2025) — TR Library (ACCESS Newswire). Read → Release Three new trustees Dick Boyce, Gretchen Stenehjem, and Matthew A. Swift join the board (2025) — TR Library (ACCESS Newswire). Read → Release ConocoPhillips · $2M gift $2 million gift, preserving the Elkhorn Ranch viewshed (2025) — TR Library (ACCESS Newswire). Read → Release Perot Foundation · $5M gift The Sarah and Ross Perot, Jr. Foundation gifts $5 million (2025) — TR Library (ACCESS Newswire). Read → Release Partnership with The Lukens Company The Foundation partners with The Lukens Company on membership growth (2025) — TR Library (PR Newswire). Read → Release MDU Resources · $500K gift The MDU Resources Foundation contributes $500,000 (November 2024) — TR Library (ACCESS Newswire). Read → Release Mercer Mass Timber selected Mercer Mass Timber to supply sustainable building materials (2024) — TR Library (ACCESS Newswire). Read → Release Roosevelt’s firsts & feats A feature release celebrating Theodore Roosevelt — TR Library (Newswire). Read →

Mount Vernon · April 2020 – 2024

As VP of Media & Communications, I issued every Mount Vernon press release in this window — the complete list (63):

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

Campaigns

“There’s a Washington App” — a tongue-in-cheek April Fools’ viral campaign for Mount Vernon. See the spoof page →

Podcasts

Podcast Places & Profiles · Ep. 27 An hour-long conversation with host Adam Camac on the life and legacy of Theodore Roosevelt (2024). Listen → Podcast America’s Talking · with Austin Berg George Washington and the importance of Mount Vernon — on the estate’s role in public memory. Listen → Podcast Mount Vernon Digital History Behind Be Washington, the Thea Award–winning interactive leadership theater. Listen → Podcast Mount Vernon · Teaching Online in a Time of Covid-19 The pivot to daily livestreaming and online classrooms when the estate closed (2020). Listen →

Appearances & moments

Awards nights, film sets, launches, keynote stages, Revolutionary War Weekend, the flight deck of USS George Washington — the photographic record of the work lives in the photo gallery →