Expert Bio

Matthew McMahon is the Visiting Fellow for Sports Diplomacy at the Wilson Center 

McMahon served for nine years leading and providing executive oversight of the U.S. Department of State's sports diplomacy portfolio. During his career at the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), McMahon built the Sports Diplomacy Division into a globally recognized instrument of American foreign policy, strengthening landmark partnerships with the NBA, MLB, NFL, ESPN, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. His team recruited and managed high-profile U.S. Sports Envoys such as Cal Ripken Jr. and Alex Morgan, deploying them and other American athletes as diplomatic ambassadors across dozens of countries annually.  The exchange programs designed and overseen by the Sports Diplomacy division engaged more than 650 American and international athletes each year at the grass-roots, professional, Olympic, and Paralympic levels, reaching coaches and young people in hard-to-reach corners of the world. Under his leadership, State Department sports diplomacy exchanges were recognized with the ESPN Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award and the Peace and Sport Diplomatic Action Award.  His work has been featured in national media and presented at venues ranging from SXSW and the National Museum of American Diplomacy to the National War College and the Foreign Service Institute.

In addition to his work in sports diplomacy, McMahon’s State Department career includes 15 years designing, managing, and evaluating Fulbright and other international exchanges to advance American foreign policy.  In 2022, McMahon was recognized with the Lois Roth Foundation's Ilchman-Richardson Award for his career contributions to the management of U.S. public diplomacy and his commitment to mentoring and developing others. McMahon holds a BA and MA in Political Science with a focus on International Relations from the University of Connecticut.

Expertise

Sports diplomacy