Mat Thompson

they/them

I have worked in and around a variety of youth work organisations for over a decade. I’ve worked as a sessional worker, a volunteer, and a teaching assistant, and in my current role I manage the delivery of youth work programmes across the South West, as well as feeding into a number of policy and strategic pieces of work. I believe that inclusive, accessible, and compassionate youth work is essential to a young person’s wellbeing, and that every young person should be able to access the support and care they need.

I am genderqueer and autistic, and I’ve dedicated a large portion of my work to furthering an agenda of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and accessibility wherever I can. I have founded a number of staff affinity groups and identity networks, have delivered training on LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent inclusion, as well as on intersectional design and approaches in the charity sector.

My scholarly career has focused sharply on challenging power and violence at every turn. My undergraduate dissertation from the University of Nottingham was centred around interviews with anarchistic and non-monogamous sub-groups, while the thesis for my master’s degree in Gender and Sexuality Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) examined the intersection of trans and autistic identities through a framework of power and subjectivity. I have spoken at multiple conferences on my work, and have a piece published in Trans Studies Quarterly on the violent and peculiar language used by trans-exclusionary groups.

I currently volunteer for the Feminist Library in Peckham, where I am at least once a week. I’m a voracious reader and love to have a book with me at all times. I’m keenly interested in history and uncovering the lived stories of people no longer with us, with a particular passion for stories previously unheard. I’m also a huge fan of cats.

I’m excited to get started with METRO and to learn more about what this amazing organisation is doing!