Matt Underwood

Matt Underwood

2019 NACSA Leader

Executive Director, Innovation Atlanta Public Schools

Matt Underwood serves as the Executive Director for Innovation for the Atlanta Public Schools, where he helps oversee the district’s authorization and performance management of all charter and partner school contracts. He also develops policies and practices that promote flexibility and innovation in support of improved educational outcomes.

Prior to joining APS in January 2019, Matt served for 12 years as the Executive Director of the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School, a former Georgia Charter School of the Year. Matt began his career as a public school educator with teaching experience at schools in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, and Boston. Matt holds a B.S. in Education from Northwestern University and a M.Ed. in School Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.


Most Recent Posts
New CREDO Study Affirms Authorizing’s Role in Transforming Public Education
NACSA’s work to strengthen the ideas and practices of authorizing so communities—especially those historically under-resourced—thrive was affirmed in the new National Charter School Study III 2023 from the Center for...
NACSA statement on St. Isadore application in Oklahoma
The decision from the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board (SVCSB) to approve an application to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School as a religious charter school...
NACSA Statement on U.S. Solicitor General Brief on Peltier v. Charter Day School
The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) agrees with the recent brief from Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar who affirmed that charter schools are public schools. The Solicitor General’s brief is consistent with the...