Matthew Brady, '89, Uses Technology To Help Reduce Gun Violence
By Tony Scott
of Trusted Technology Solutions, Inc. (Photo credit: Matthew Brady)
Matthew Brady, ’89, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, and now works with law enforcement agencies to help curb gun crime through his roles as CEO of EvidenceIQ and executive chairman of Trusted Technology Solutions, Inc.
"Gun violence is an epidemic in the United States," Brady said. "There are 40,000 Americans killed every year and it costs the U.S. $5 billion a year in lost wages, court systems costs and incarceration costs. Everyone in the U.S. knows someone affected by gun violence."
Since his graduation from NIU, Brady has compiled more than 25 years of executive experience in global sales, marketing and general management.
“As the CEO of EvidenceIQ, I lead a team of passionate professionals who are on a mission to take serial gun criminals off the street with our cutting-edge ballistics technology,” he said. “We offer a triage, Software as a Service solution, that rapidly identifies the number of guns and shooters at a crime scene and provides real-time crime intelligence to law enforcement agencies.”
Brady said EvidenceIQ works with agencies to get funding to acquire and use his company’s technology. However, he said it is frustrating dealing with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) when it comes to sharing data.
“Gun crime in the United States is horrific,” he said. “Our technology truly helps find prolific serial shooters who wreak havoc in our communities. We work with Illinois, Virginia, and other states to get funding for police agencies to acquire and use our technology. We know if more agencies had our technology, we would drive down gun crime in their communities. So, the biggest challenge is getting funding and dealing with the ATF folks.”
Brady ended up at NIU after initially planning on attending Southern Illinois University. Two weeks before classes began, he decided instead to enroll at Moraine Valley Community College, attending there for one year while working two jobs. At the end of that year, he took a road trip to DeKalb.
“I got into my car and drove to NIU in August of 1986,” he said. “I rang the bell at the admission desk and a super nice person, who actually went to my high school and lived in Posen, Illinois, one town over from Midlothian, helped me apply on the spot. He walked me over to sign up for classes and helped me sign up for an apartment on campus because the dorms happened to be full.”
Brady began his tenure at NIU as a business major.
“I came to NIU because I initially wanted to be a business major, but my inability to do well in accounting caused me to transfer into the Department of Political Science which was the best decision I ever made!” he said. “I enjoyed the subjects, the teachers, the debate, and really had a blast.”
Brady counts Clark Neher, Manfred Wenner and Dan Kempton as professors who really opened his eyes during his time at NIU.
“Manfred Wenner was incredible,” he said. “He taught me things I literally had no idea that the United States and our allies had been involved in during the 1940s to 1970s. I learned so much about the Middle East and when I traveled to the region for Motorola, Tellabs, Federal Signal and other companies, I had a greater understanding of the history, the religion and how things all went down historically.”
He added, “Clark Neher taught me about human exploitation in Asia. I traveled all over Asia on business and remembered everything he taught me about Thailand and Asia. Mr. Kempton opened my eyes to all the career opportunities a political science major could have. He also made time for all the students during off hours and was super helpful to me."
Brady said a true Huskie exemplifies several qualities.
“Huskies have initiative, grit, tenacity, and the ability to know that tomorrow is going to be a better day,” he said.