Matthew Bejtlich is a university professor, PhD researcher, and senior mentor with extensive experience guiding high school students, university students, and early-career professionals through complex, interdisciplinary projects. He currently teaches part-time at Dalhousie University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Northeastern University, where he designs and leads courses in sustainability education, systems thinking, design for social impact, and creative research methods.
Across Crimson Education, Indigo Research, and Polygence, Matthew has completed 400+ hours of one-on-one mentorship, supporting 70+ peop globally in the development of capstones, arts portfolios, research papers, and early-stage ventures. Student projects have gone on to produce climate action initiatives, community-based non-profits, original research studies, films and media projects, sustainability-focused businesses, fundraising experiences, and educational programs. In addition students have gone on to publish original research and earn scholarships and acceptances to top universities, including University of Pennsylvania, USC, Parsons, University of Washington, and others. He currently serves as both an Expert and Premier mentor at Crimson Education.
Matthew’s mentoring bridges academic rigor with real-world application. He helps students translate big questions into expressive outcomes using tools such as design mapping, arts-based inquiry, systems thinking, multi-species stakeholder engagement, and creative storytelling. Many students arrive with an interest in one field and leave with a fully realized, interdisciplinary project—ready for publication, competition, exhibition, or launch.
Alongside his academic work, Matthew brings over 15 years of professional experience in education, storytelling, and creative practice, including sound, film, photography, and media production. As co-founder of Unfolding Aliveness, he works with students and communities to create place-based, ecological, and multispecies storytelling projects—an approach that strengthens students’ to respond to ecosystemic realities and attune to local potentials of place.
Matthew is currently pursuing a PhD in Management at Dalhouise University, researching how organizations can be designed to be more regenerative through practices of deep listening. This research, combined with his teaching and mentoring background, makes him especially well-suited for students and professionals seeking to work at the intersection of education, sustainability, creativity, and social impact.