Matthew E. Chen (Matt) most recently was Director of Government Affairs at Blink EV Charging and its predecessor SemaConnect. Creating an external affairs function from scratch, he represented the company with Congress and state and local governments and oversaw site visits to company facilities by the Governors of Arizona and Maryland, Members of Congress, and other policymakers.

Previously, Matt worked for BP. As associate director for international affairs, he helped track and analyze U.S. foreign policy for bp’s businesses around the world and represented the company in discussions with federal policymakers. Earlier he was associate director of state & local affairs and a member of the communications team.

At the beginning of his career, Matt was policy assistant and communications manager for the director of Rice University’s nonpartisan Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston, Texas. In this role, he coordinated the institute’s conflict resolution projects, and wrote and edited op-eds, speeches, and executive correspondence. Matt began his career working as a research associate in the institute’s energy policy program. He holds a B.A. in history cum laude from Rice University and a Master of International Affairs degree with Distinction from The Australian National University.