Matthew Crescenzo

Name: Matthew Crescenzo
City/State: Silver Spring, MD
Branch of Service: Army
Dates of Service: 02/2013-02/2017
Last Rank Held: E5
Military Occupation: 25U/Signal/Comms
Current Occupation: n/a
X: @mattcrescenzo_
Instagram: mpcrescenzo
Facebook: n/a

Matthew outside of the military:

I cook a lot, I love to read, I equally enjoy grabbing dinner and drinks with my social circle as I do hanging out with my dog, Bloo. She’s an Australian cattle dog, so we’re constantly walking, playing, or learning new tricks. I’ve been learning to use a smoker lately, which has been a fun experiment/obsession. I think I got meat down, but haven’t been able to perfect cheese yet. I’m also a huge film and audio nerd. I built a modest home theater setup in my basement, so movie nights are definitely a thing.

Matthew on joining the IAVA Cavalry:

I’m joining because I feel like there are several devastating actions being taken by our government right now that are harming our veterans and as someone directly impacted, I feel it is important to share my story. VA cuts, federal reductions that put veterans out of work, more general cuts and changes to services that vulnerable populations–like veterans–rely on.

How the military experience affected Matthew’s personal growth:

It showed me I need to pay more attention to the decisions made by those in power. It shaped some of my core beliefs, such as providing certain services to the veterans we send off to war, electing leaders who will do everything they can to avoid the next war, a strong democracy to honor the sacrifices out veterans have made. It’s shaped who am as a professional leader and person. Being calm under pressure, trusting those around me, balancing discipline, organization, and structure with a certain level of grace and humility.

IAVA’s policy priorities that are the most pressing:

More from our democracy. If people don’t trust our public institutions, it creates an opportunity for leaders to flirt with authoritarianism and exploit that growing sentiment to make false claims and abuse and expand power. It also creates opportunities for bad actors to more easily disrupt the system in the future. Lastly, it generates apathy among potential voters, alienating the people that would otherwise engage with government and the electoral process to prevent democratic backsliding.

IAVA’s policy priorities with the strongest personal connection for Matthew:

Afghan Allies – I personally submitted over 1,000 SIV/P1/P2 evac requests in 2021. I have a personal relationship with my translator whose family is still stuck in Afghanistan. I worked hard to assist him, but couldn’t get it done and I feel like I owe it to him to keep trying.