MATTHEW BARZUN

March 7, 2019 – former US Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Matthew Barzun had a thought provoking conversation with global education strategist Dr. Vicki Phillips on tremendous power education holds for transforming lives, families and communities.

Matthew Barzun served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom from August 2013 to January 2017, as National Finance Chair for former President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, and as U.S. ambassador to Sweden.

In 2008, he volunteered for then-Senator Barack Obama’s presidential election campaign, leading the effort to conduct supporter-driven small-dollar fundraisers. He joined CNET Networks in 1993 as its fourth employee and held various management positions during his 11 years with the company, including Chief Strategy Officer.

Matthew is currently Chairman of Tortoise Media, a London-based news organization, is Publisher of Louisville Magazine and Louisville.com, and is working on a non-fiction book for Optimism Press, a division of Penguin Random House. 

Matthew lives in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife Brooke Brown Barzun and 3 children.

With a strong interest in education policy and practice, Barzun visited more than 200 British schools and conducted workshops for more than 20,000 British high school seniors during his ambassadorship. He has served on the boards of many non-profits focused on education, public policy and interfaith relations.