Matt Bristow-Smith is principal of Edgecombe Early College High School and served as an English teacher at Tarboro High School for 15 years. He is an NC Teaching Fellow, a North East Leadership Academy Fellow, a National Board Certified teacher, the 2011 North Central Region Teacher of the Year, the 2019 Wells Fargo NC Principal of the Year and a graduate of Appalachian State University and North Carolina State University. He serves as a working group member of the ECPS Educational Foundation, which supports innovative practices in Edgecombe County Public Schools.