Matthew A. Gilbert

Artist, Blogger, Connector, Consultant, Educator/Teacher, Entrepreneur, Idea generator, Parent, Social entrepreneur, Student, Writer/Editor

I am a teacher, researcher, and trainer with more than 25 years of experience writing, speaking, and consulting. As a lecturer of marketing in the Wall College of Business at Coastal Carolina University, I develop academic courses and corporate training for delivery in person, via blended learning, and online. I also inspire innovation mindsets in underrepresented adolescents as the director of the university’s Each One Teach One Entrepreneurship Institute. A charismatic communicator, I have delivered two TEDx talks: “Moving Forward from Failure” and “Inspiring Innovation Mindsets in Underrepresented Adolescents.” Intrigued with the intersection of humanity, industry, and technology, my research interests include digital marketing, educational technology, entrepreneurship education, innovation, and the sharing economy. When asked why teaching is my tenure I explain, “education empowers me to influence individuals and impact organizations while simultaneously improving myself.”

Intersecting humanity, industry, and technology, my research creates connections between academia and industry, contributing knowledge to both theory and practice. I found a favored focus in entrepreneurship through my participation in the United Arab Emirates Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Program which trained me to teach design thinking and creativity. Since existing literature explores how and why entrepreneurs innovate, my research investigates the impact of education and the significance of the surroundings in which they operate. When research reveals results, I will share strategies leaders can leverage to elevate emerging economies and underserved individuals alike.

There are 4.6 million opportunity youth in the United States. These are 16- to 24-year-olds who are not working and not in school. They cost taxpayers $93 billion a year in unearned revenue, and increased use of social services. Some people might write these individuals off as a lost cause, but we can rewrite the roadmap of their lives with early intervention education. Doing so takes a village, but the returns are exponential. $1.6 trillion is spent over the lifetime of opportunity youth, a catastrophic cost to the economy and each of our communities. Imagine if that amount of money was instead invested in these same individuals! Making a difference requires making an effort. Look for the overlooked. Represent the underrepresented. Direct the destitute to self-determination. There's no time like the present to help others find their future. As you commence your quest, embrace empathy in all of your actions, and welcome the following words from the Charles Dickens novel, David Copperfield: "The most important thing in life is to stop saying I wish and start saying I will. Consider nothing impossible and treat possibilities as probabilities."

elearning, entrepreneurship, higher education, innovation, leadership, marketing, public speaking, teaching

I first discovered Sir Ken Robinson's "Do schools kill creativity?" TED Talk shortly after it was uploaded to YouTube in 2007. Ever since, I've integrated countless TED Talks into the university courses I teach. In March 2018 I attended my first TED event, TEDxSPJainDubai on the campus of the SP Jain School of Global Management in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Two years later in February 2020, I was selected as a speaker for TEDxRITDubai for which the theme was "The Bigger Question." Sharing the story of one woman’s determined innovation in the face of formidable failure, I presented a personal perspective about how we can pivot and progress over any obstacle. This event was initially organized as an in-person gathering for February 2020 by students from the Rochester Institute of Technology campus in Dubai, but that was pivoted to an online experience in April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that same year, I was one of 12 speakers chosen from a pool of 240 applicants by TEDxRaleigh to deliver “Inspiring Innovation Mindsets in Underrepresented Adolescents.” In alignment with the event topic “Hitting Reset,” I framed my talk within the context of opportunity youth, 16- to 24-year-olds not working and not in school who cost taxpayers $93 billion annually. I argued that we can rewrite the roadmap of their lives with early intervention education, the mission of the Each One Teach One Entrepreneurship Institute at Coastal Carolina University since it was founded more than a decade ago by the Brown family. Giving back to the organization that has given me so much, I am excited to help organize the first TEDxCoastalCarolinaUniversity event in April 2022 as a speaker coach.

I’ve always found satisfaction, purpose, and identity as a “learner.” When I was younger, I mistakenly measured my self-worth on my grades alone. As I matured, I finally understood why “the outcome of the learning is less significant than the ‘getting there,’ (Now, Discover Your Strengths, 2001, p. 107). I’ve also always had an aptitude to “sort through the clutter and find the best route,” (Now, Discover Your Strength, 2001, p. 115), which is the foundation of my ability to learn and to communicate. I naturally have a need to “connect the dots” between individual pieces to clarify the meaning of each thereby revealing a larger truth. I enjoy a high degree of intellectual and introspective activity. I prefer to establish close relationships with others, and I find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a common goal.