Matthew Davis

Matt received his education at Georgia College & State University, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in History in 2002 and a Master of Arts in History with a concentration in Public History in 2004. He is employed as the Director of Institutional History Museums and Galleries at Washington and Lee University, where he manages their National Historic Landmark Chapel, the Washington Hall Gallery, and will oversee construction of new Institutional History Museum.

Davis is a member of several professional museum groups and boards. In 2019, he was elected to the governing council of the Southeastern Museums Conference and was elected by the membership as President in 2022. In 2026, he was elected to the Governing Council of the Virginia Association of Museums, representing the Mountain Valley and has been a member of their Governance Committee since 2025. Davis previously served as President of the Georgia Association of Museums from 2018-2021.

Additionally, he is a member of the Standards and Ethics Committee and the Historic House Museum Committee for the American Association of State and Local History and serves as a Museum Assessment Program and Accreditation Reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums. Davis is a 2016 graduate of the 21st Century Museum Leadership Institute, which was sponsored by the George Washington University and the Smithsonian Institution and a 2022 graduate of the Southeastern Museum Conference Leadership Institute. He is a frequent guest speaker and presenter at museum conferences nationwide.

In 2012, Davis was named as the Museum Professional of the Year by the Georgia Association of Museums. Davis has also served in a variety of capacities in various local organizations including service on the advisory board for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Georgia College. Recently, he was elected for his third term as a member of Georgia College’s Alumni Association Board of Directors.