Matthew Alemu completed his B.S. in Accounting at the Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans in 2006. Afterward, he received his MPP from the University of Michigan in 2009. He is currently completing his Ph.D. in the joint Sociology and Public Policy program at the University of Michigan. Before returning to the University of Michigan in Fall 2012, Matthew worked as a policy analyst at the Government Accountability Office in Washington D.C.

Matthew's research interests span the areas of Race, Culture, Family, and Public Policy. His dissertation research looks at how experiencing an absent father as a youth influences one's life course. Specifically, his dissertation examines how growing up with an absent father informs young Black men's ideologies and intentions for fatherhood and romantic relationships. His next independent research project lies at the intersection of the history of racism in the U.S. and the educational backgrounds and training of law enforcement. Matthew is also actively engaged in public scholarship on race, and his op-eds have been featured in the Detroit Free Press and Blavity.com.