Matthew Spence is a co-Founder and Board Member of the Truman National Security Project and Truman Center for National Policy.

Matt is Managing Director and Global Head of Venture Capital Banking at Barclays, where he focuses on emerging technology companies, with a focus at the intersection of defense technology, cybersecurity, and national security. He also serves as Professor of Practice at Arizona State University's Thunderbird School of Management and Law School.

Before entering the private sector Matt held senior roles in the government in national security. Matt served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy, where he was the principal advisor to three Secretaries of Defense on U.S. policy toward the Middle East. He received the Secretary of Defense Award for Outstanding Public Service.

Prior to that, Matt served at the White House on the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economic Affairs, and as Senior Advisor to two National Security Advisors.

Matt helped establish Truman Project chapters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and New Haven. He was a Lecturer in International Relations at Oxford University and has been widely published on national security and foreign policy. Trained as a lawyer, Dr. Spence practiced criminal and international law in California and served as a law clerk for Judge Richard Posner of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. A Marshall Scholar and Truman Scholar, he holds a Doctorate in International Relations from Oxford University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and a B.A. and M.A. in International Policy Studies from Stanford University.

Matt lives in Sausalito with his wife Audrey, son Finn and three dogs.