Matthew Houston

Matt Houston is CEO of Collaborative Culture LLC., a Dallas-based firm that provides economic, professional, and leadership development consulting to organizations across the country and the Caribbean. At Collaborative Culture, Houston provides economic development consulting services to developers for master planning, community engagement, and developing the strategy of catalytic projects for sustainable growth. 

A desire to drive change, specifically in the area of economic equity for all, is Matt’s personal mission. Houston believes the path to success is through education and business creation. To that end, Matt works tirelessly to advocate for new businesses, wealth and job creation, and communities that create and value their economic engines. 

Matt is currently Lecturer of Business Management at The University of North Texas at Dallas School of Business, teaching Entrepreneurship and Leadership, a position that allows him to invest in students, the community, and the city at large. Houston is co-founder and Principal of the Trailblazer Advisory Group (TAG), a firm consisting of four UNT Dallas School of Business Professors who assists real estate developers, municipalities, and other stakeholders in creating opportunity through impactful, inclusive, and progressive real estate investment consulting. Houston also serves as Chairman of TAAACC, the Texas Association of African American Chambers of Commerce, an organization developed to advocate for black economic ecosystems in 30 cities in Texas. Houston was a member of Dallas’ Inaugural Class of the Aspen Institute's Dallas Economic Opportunity Leadership Academy. 

Matt is a native of Dallas and earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Southern Methodist University (SMU) and his Masters of Business Administration degree from the Neely School of Business at Texas Christian University (TCU). Houston recently graduated from the NAACP NEXTGEN Leadership Program, a national program providing comprehensive leadership and advocacy training for young adults on a mission to become the next generation of civil rights leaders. He was also in the Blueprint for Leadership Program Class of 2008 (Center for Nonprofit Management) and Leadership Dallas Class of 2012, through the Dallas Regional Chamber.