Talented Advocate and Youth Tour Alumnus Joins Choptank Electric As Manager of Government Affairs
Choptank Electric Cooperative has hired a Manager of Government Affairs, Matt Teffeau, who will begin his duties on Monday, July 1, 2019.
Matt Teffeau is a lifelong Marylander and native of Preston, MD. After graduating from Salisbury University in 2010, he worked for Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Assistant, where he handled agricultural and natural resource issues. Developing a strong relationship with Maryland Farmers, he then began working for the Maryland Farm Bureau (MFB) as their assistant director of Government Relations. At the MFB, he advocated for Maryland farmers in the halls of Annapolis and worked with both political party members to pass common sense pieces of legislation.
Matt later answered the call to become a public servant when he joined the Maryland Department of Agriculture under the Hogan Administration. For three legislative sessions he had a 100% departmental bill passage rate and worked with leadership both in the House and Senate to mitigate potential harmful pieces of legislation.
Teffeau is also a 2017 graduate from the LEAD Maryland program, which is a two-year leadership development program that fosters emerging agriculture and natural resource advocates in Maryland.
Most recently, Teffeau managed the State Public Affairs for a Trade Association in Washington D.C. known as the Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE). His responsibilities took him across the country, advocating for agriculture, public health, and scientific research.
Teffeau was inspired to pursue politics and advocacy when he visited Washington D.C. during the 2005 National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Youth Tour his junior year of high school. He went on to intern at NRECA for two summers, during college, in their Government Relations department.
“We are very excited that Matt is coming to work at Choptank Electric,” said Mike Malandro, President and CEO of Choptank Electric Cooperative. “We are looking forward to building solid relationships with our local representatives and political leaders using Matt’s experience in Annapolis so that we can work towards the Co-op’s long term goals.”
Teffeau currently lives in Annapolis, MD with his four month old daughter Harriet.