Matt Gross

Matt Gross is the Assistant Secretary for Government Affairs at DHHS. He most recently was the Policy Director for NC Child, representing the organization in the North Carolina General Assembly and with North Carolina’s Congressional Delegation. While at NC Child he worked on multiple issues including raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction, child welfare reform, Medicaid, early childhood and tax policy.

Before joining NC Child, Gross worked as the Policy Director for The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. In that role he was responsible for managing advocacy efforts at the General Assembly, leading the development of Smart Start's legislative agenda, and working with all 75 Smart Start local partnerships on legislative engagement. He helped grow support for the state's early childhood programs by raising awareness of the importance of the 2,000 days between the time a child is born and enters kindergarten. He also supported comprehensive approaches to early literacy by getting the state to adopt the Pathways to Grade Level Reading data indicators.

Prior to his work in North Carolina, Gross served Virginia Governors Timothy M. Kaine and Robert F. McDonnell as the Conflict of Interest Director for the state. He also served during the Kaine administration in a variety of roles under the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. This included managing the Governor's Commission on Immigration, developing the strategic plan for the Council on the Status of Women, and planning the Governor's Summit on Poverty. Additionally, he worked as a Legislative Assistant for Virginia state Sen. John C. Watkins.

Gross holds a master’s degree in social work with a concentration in administration, planning, and public policy from Virginia Commonwealth University. He also has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from North Carolina State University.