Matthew Tester
Project Associate
404-880-7243
Email: Matthew Tester
Matthew
Tester contributes to Market Street a strong set of analytical
and communication skills, as well as experience in community development,
comprehensive planning, and geographic information systems (GIS). He has a keen
interest in applying geospatial and data-based analyses at the convergence of
today’s economic, transportation,
and ecological challenges in order to help create vibrant communities. At Market Street, Mr. Tester is currently
the lead researcher for strategic planning processes in Gwinnett County,
Georgia and Vestavia Hills, Alabama. He recently led research efforts for the Montgomery, Alabama region’s Imagine a Greater
Montgomery II strategy process, an Economic Development Plan in Alpharetta, Georgia, and
a Five-Year
Action Agenda
in the Wheeling, West Virginia region. Mr. Tester has contributed to a number
of other projects during his time at Market Street, including a Regional Development Strategy for Northwest Arkansas and
an Economic Development Strategy update for Nashville,
Tennessee.
Prior
to joining Market Street, Mr. Tester worked as an
urban planner at EDAW AECOM, where he honed research and analytical skills and
became experienced in project design, management, and delivery. During his time
there, he helped develop community revitalization strategies for a coalition of
South Carolina neighborhoods, create a planning framework for a naval air
station, and prepare community assessment reports by utilizing GIS mapping,
field research, and local plans. As a graduate research assistant at the
Georgia Institute of Technology, he researched the role of university
development in community and economic development. He also conducted
independent research on the effect of various property tax regimes on urban
growth and morphology.
Mr. Tester holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied Political Science and Spanish.