Most Influential, Equity: Matt Chan
Activist, entrepreneur
By Chris S. Nishiwaki January 24, 2024
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2024 issue of Seattle magazine.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Matt Chan on Saturday, March 30, 2024. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.
Matt Chan has been a provocateur much of his life, from his childhood in Portland, to his time as a student at the University of Oregon, and throughout a successful career in television production.
Most recently, Chan successfully fought King County’s plans to develop a homeless shelter in the Chinatown-International District. Chan arrived at a public hearing to protest the proposed shelter mere hours after his first chemotherapy session to fight kidney cancer. Less than two months later, King County dropped the plan.
“We slowed (the proposed plan) until the timeline couldn’t work,” Chan says of his strategy in mobilizing community activists. “The thing about community engagement is that so many politicians will select people who would agree with them. No, you have to hear stuff from people who are against what you want to do.”
Choosing to work exclusively with progressive candidates of color, he has recently produced campaign ads for successful candidates including King County Council member Girmay Zahilay, state Sen. Joe Nguyen, and Port of Seattle commissioners Sam Cho, Hamdi Mohamed, and Toshiko Grace Hasegawa. He has also consulted with King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion.
“The main mistake people make about storytelling is to want to tell their story,” Chan says of his communications strategy. “A successful storyteller targets the audience.”
Chan, for instance, convinced Zahilay, Nguyen, and Mohamed to downplay their stories of immigration because he didn’t think they would resonate with voters.
“You are trying to reach people who won’t naturally vote for you, and you need to tell them something they believe,” Chan says. “Nobody wants to hear (you came over on a boat). You are instantly saying ‘I am not you. I am different.’ Instead, you should talk about adversity. All families have faced adversity. You are including the audience, not excluding them.”
Chan was also a producer on the reality show Hoarders, which first aired in 2009. Three weeks later, the show was featured on Oprah. By 2011, it had won a Critic’s Choice Award and became the A&E network’s highest-rated show ever.
The show is still on the air.
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