Matt SuttlesMatt Suttles

Matt Suttles brings over two decades of hands-on experience in health care and behavioral health to McDowell County and Western North Carolina. Throughout a 20-year career, he has directed an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) day support program for ten years, served as Director of Mental Health Services, operated a licensed foster care program, and spent three years as the county’s Mobile Crisis Clinician, responding directly to individuals in crisis, including those experiencing homelessness and interactions with law enforcement.

With experience managing teams of 100 or more and overseeing the health and well-being of up to 1,000 community members at a time, he has also built meaningful expertise in workforce development; understanding both the systems that support people and the infrastructure needed to sustain them.

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, Western North Carolina faces compounding challenges that demand exactly this kind of experience. Matt Suttles is uniquely prepared to help rebuild workforce infrastructure and address the growing mental health needs of displaced residents and vulnerable communities across McDowell County: bringing not just credentials, but real, street-level knowledge of what recovery actually requires.