Matthew is concurrently the chief executive officer of the William & Mary Foundation and the vice president for university advancement at William & Mary.  

He oversees the university’s team of nearly 200 staff including constituent and regional development; alumni engagement; campaign operations & principal gifts; lifetime philanthropic engagement & annual giving; university marketing & communications; events; and strategic advancement initiatives. He leads a team that strives to strengthen William & Mary’s community by identifying and qualifying new prospective donors, volunteers and connectors, and providing the meaningful philanthropic and engagement opportunities to ensure alumni, parents, and friends become consistent supporters of the university.  

As CEO of the W&M Foundation, he works with the Board of Trustees and dual-hat staff to ensure the Foundation's stewardship of nearly $1 billion in endowments for the benefit of William & Mary. He also oversees Foundation Services, LLC, which is responsible for the management and coordination of services supporting all of William & Mary's affiliated foundations.

Dr. Lambert and the leadership team successfully completed the historic For the Bold campaign in 2020, surpassing $1 billion, the highest alumni participation rate of any public university, and deeper ties among alumni and their alma mater. The All In Campaign for W&M Athletics was launched in March 2021, with a focused goal of $55 million by 2023.  

Prior to W&M, Matthew was the associate vice president for university development at Georgetown University. During his 11 years at Georgetown, Matthew held a variety of roles incorporating major gift and annual fund together with alumni and volunteer engagement. He worked with students, alumni and parents, including reunion-specific fundraising, alumni relations and principal gift management. He had direct oversight of development operations and staff for the university’s $1.5 billion campaign, including all the Main Campus academic units, Athletics and Mission & Ministry programs, as well as the Regional Advancement team. Matthew created the Student Discovery Initiative and was involved with every step of the program’s evolution, which is now recognized nationally as a model for alumni engagement.

Dr. Lambert is active in public policy research and teaches in the Education and Public Policy programs. He is the author of Privatization and the Public Good, published by Harvard Education Press and co-editor of Advancing Higher Education, published by Roman & Littlefield (September 2019).