Dr. Michael D. Matthews
Dr. Michael D. Matthews is currently Professor of Engineering Psychology at the United States Military Academy. He is a former Air Force officer with tours of duty at the U.S. Air Force Human Resources Laboratory and as a faculty member at the U.S. Air Force Academy and taught at Drury University. Dr. Matthews was selected as a Templeton Foundation Positive Psychology Fellow and much of his research focuses on applying Positive Psychology principles to military contexts. He is on the Science Advisory Board for the Military Child Education Coalition and served as President of the American Psychological Association’s Division of Military Psychology from 2007 to 2008. Collectively, his research interests center on character and human performance in combat and other dangerous contexts.
A Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Matthews speaks regularly to military and civic groups on matters of personal and organizational resilience. He is the author or coauthor of over 200 scientific articles and is a past associate editor for the journal Military Psychology. Dr. Matthews coedited the Oxford Handbook of Military Psychology (2012), Leadership in Dangerous Contexts (Naval Institute Press, 2011), and a four-volume series entitled Military Psychology for Sage Press (2012).
Dr. Matthews’s book, Head Strong: How Psychology is Revolutionizing War (Oxford University Press, Revised and Expanded Edition, 2020), is shaping emerging Army Human Dimension doctrine. In 2017 he published Inclusion in the American Military: A Force for Diversity (Lexington Press, 2017, with David Rohall and Morten Ender). Reflecting his interest in Soldier performance, he edited Human Performance Optimization: The Science and Ethics of Enhancing Human Performance, published by Oxford University Press in January 2019. His latest book, coauthored with West Point’s 59th Superintendent Lieutenant General (retired) Robert Caslen, is The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity (St. Martin’s Press, release date 13 October 2020).
Speaking Topics:
CHARACTER, LEADERSHIP, & RESILIENCE
Positive character is fundamental to living an engaged and meaningful life full of purpose. Matthews describes character, offers a character assessment, and educates participants on how to harness their most powerful positive character attributes to live the good life.
GRIT & ACHIEVEMENT
Grit, the passionate pursuit of long-term goals, is a cardinal trait of those who overcome obstacles to achieve seemingly impossible goals. Matthews will define grit, assess it, and discuss how to nurture and grow it.
ENHANCING PSYCHOLOGICAL BODY ARMOR
Surviving and thriving in the face of adversity requires a range of psychological, social, and physical skills. Matthews takes a deep dive into these bedrocks of resilience and offer actionable advice on how to employ these tools to bolster our psychological body armor and leverage our inner strengths to adapt and even flourish in the face of adversity.
Endorsements:
Mary Keller (Former President & CEO, The Military Child Education Coalition): For almost two decades I have had the joy to witness Mike’s truly outstanding talents as a presenter, speaker and teacher. For audiences from small seminars to large conferences, he is consistently thoughtful, engaging and inspiring. Mike’s reviews, from teens through adult professionals, always garnered high praise.
Angela Duckworth (CEO of the Character Lab and bestselling author of Grit): As a speaker, Mike is wonderfully warm, completely charismatic, wholly humble — and best of all, a true expert in character development, mental fitness, and human factors in performance. I'm honored to be his friend and colleague.
Dr. Jessica Gallus (Senior Executive, Department of Navy Sexual Assault Prevention and Response): Dr. Matthews' resilience series has been a tremendous contribution to the health of our force. Not only is his expertise based on decades of experience as one of the leading military psychologists, but his experience as a Service member and law enforcement officer provides the “real world” perspective our leaders need to manage and overcome challenges.