Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Matt LaVita enters his fourth year as the shooting center manager and physical education and wellness firearms instructor in 2023-24 after a 20+ year career as a uniformed trooper with the Massachusetts State Police.

During his time with the State Police, he has been a member of the Firearms Training Unit, which provides intensive, court-defensible firearms training for all members of the State Police force, to include recruiting, in-service and specialized training iterations. In September of 2004, he was tasked with and accepted the role of Director of the FTU at the Massachusetts State Police Academy. In this role, he was highly successful in overseeing all unit operations, as well as administering recruit level training, in-service training programs for department personnel, and advanced firearms training to officers serving in specialized units. As Director, he was also responsible for the oversight and administration of a six-million-dollar training facility, which included a state-of-the-art firearms training complex comprised of two large ranges, several outbuildings, and the attendant grounds.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history from Norwich University in 1992, along with earning a Master of Arts in education from Salem State College in 1996 and a Master of Arts in criminal justice from Anna Maria College in 2002.