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.

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

  • Board Member, Vice Chair (rose from Secretary) — Visit Fairfax (2019–2022)
  • Participating Member — Mount Vernon Tourism Taskforce (2019–2022)
  • Board Member — The Campagna Center, Alexandria (2013–2016)

In the press

As featured in The Washington Post The Washington Times WJLA ABC7 FOX 5 DC KFYR-TV Northern Virginia Magazine America’s Talking Places & Profiles
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 The Washington Times Quoted in national coverage of George Washington, Mount Vernon, and its history and preservation. Read → TV KFYR-TV (NBC, North Dakota) On the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library’s July 4, 2026 opening and what visitors will experience. Watch → TV Valley News Live · North Dakota Today Morning-show segment on the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and what’s ahead (2024). Watch → Radio KFGO · For A Cause Broadcast interview on the Library’s July 4, 2026 opening and how to become a member (2026). Listen → Press The Dickinson Press Medora leaders on plans for the Library’s grand opening — rollout, exhibitions, and the AI Roosevelt experience. Read → Radio AM 1100 ‘The Flag’ · The Steve Hallstrom Show Radio interview on the Library taking shape during construction in Medora, North Dakota. Listen → TV FOX 5 DC Mount Vernon spotlights travel and tourism in Fairfax County — regional tourism recovery. Watch → TV WJLA · 7News (ABC7 Washington) On-air Mount Vernon segments — the Colonial Market & Fair and Purple Heart Day (2022). Watch → Feature Northern Virginia Magazine “Meet Aladdin the Camel” — Mount Vernon’s holiday tradition and Washington’s 1787 camel (2023). Read → Feature Dogwood · Virginia Quirky George Washington facts — setting the record straight on the viral “40-yard dash” myth (2023). Read → Feature Tessitura · Success Story Featured case study and testimonial film on Mount Vernon’s move from 12% to 45% online ticket sales (2017). Read →

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 →

Speaking

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 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 in the conference Web Crit Room. 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 · Minneapolis Presenting digital fundraising and advocacy work during the Emotive years.

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

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 →