Hero School

Matthew Hamilton is a social entrepreneur, teacher and writer with experience in the philanthropy, youth mental health, civil society, media and academic sectors.

Prior to establishing the Hero School project, Matthew managed the mental health program of philanthropy for One Foundation in Ireland, during which time he Co-Founded Headstrong - The National Centre for Youth Mental Health. Matthew had previously been a policy analyst and lobbyist for the University of Melbourne's ORYGEN Research Centre - arguably the world's leading centre of youth mental health expertise. At ORYGEN, Matthew was part of a team that helped convince the Australian Government to invest in innovative new approaches to promote and support young people's mental health, with Headspace - Australia's National Youth Mental Health Foundation the result.

Prior to working in Melbourne, Matthew had been Head of Policy, Research and Communications at The Wheel - the principal support and advocacy organisation for the non-profit sector in Ireland. Matthew switched to the non-profit sector after three years as a media entrepreneur - co-founding a production company specialising in developing educational software.

Matthew is a former student leader and economics and finance graduate from the University of Limerick. He is passionate about travel and has explored 18 countries in the continent of America alone. Travel writing by Matthew appears on FuegoYAgua.com and in the upcoming Footprint Guide to Mexico and Central America.