Matthew Der Hayden

Matthew “Matt” von der Hayden is the Township Administrator and the Director of the Water & Sewer Utility in Stafford Township, New Jersey. Matt has been an adjunct faculty member in the MPA program since 2017 and teaches Effective City Management and Managing Public Networks online. He is a Ph.D. candidate in Old Dominion University’s Public Administration and Policy program. Matt has an MPA from Villanova University and was the first online MPA student to graduate with that degree. He also has an MBA from Rutgers University in Finance and Accounting and Bachelors in Biological Sciences from Rowan University. His professional work is related to finance, project management, grants (obtained over $16 million in grants), and administration, working with federal, state and local organizations, along with the public, to complete projects for Stafford Township, Egg Harbor Township, Ocean City and the Atlantic County Utilities Authority.

Matt is married to his wife Melissa and has three children, Luke, Madison and Isabella. He is an active member in the Emerging Local Government Leaders, the New Jersey Municipal Management Association (NJMMA) and is the Senior Policy Advisor for the 501(c)(3) nonprofit, New Jersey Coastal Coalition. Matt was awarded the February 2017 Sustainability Hero Award from Sustainable Jersey, the 2018 NJMMA New Professional Award for his work in the public sector and the Top 40 Under 40 in 2019 from the Atlantic City Weekly. His volunteer work includes helping coach his son’s team for the South Jersey Field of Dreams for children with special needs, serving on the Sustainable Jersey Ocean County Steering HUB, the Sustainable Jersey Health Task Force and the Ocean County Joint Insurance Fund Executive Committee.