{"id":101030,"date":"2025-11-17T12:41:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T19:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/?p=101030"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T19:53:14","slug":"a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"A creative\u2019s path to policy: how one PhD student is helping shape Idaho\u2019s creative economy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The words \u201ccreative\u201d and “policy\u201d might seem like an unlikely pair. But Matt Wordell, Public Policy and Administration PhD student, studies how policymaking can support Idaho\u2019s creative economy. Matt began his career in the fine arts, studying photography, painting and filmmaking. After two years working in film production in Los Angeles, Matt returned to Idaho to study anthropology at Boise State while launching a photography and design company that funded his education and opened doors to new creative opportunities. He toured with bands, filmed volcanology documentaries across the world and established a photography program for Boise\u2019s Treefort Music Festival. Through his work with Treefort, Matt met Aaron Rodriguez, and together they founded Visionkit Studio<\/a>, a video production and photography company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Matt
Matt Wordell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Local Vision, Local Talent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the center of Matt\u2019s work is a focus on keeping local creative talent here in Idaho. While expanding work at Visionkit, Matt became involved with a local revitalization effort called the Garden City Placemaking Fund, where he met Amanda Ashley, Boise State\u2019s Dr. Thomas and Marilyn Beck Endowed Professor in the Arts. Amanda encouraged Matt to expand his impact through the PhD program. Matt shared, \u201cI had no intention of getting back into academia. It was not on my list, but Amanda introduced me to creative economy and placemaking policy \u2014 ways to empower communities to build and grow meaningful spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once accepted to the program, Matt was connected with Boise State\u2019s Idaho Policy Institute, where he began working as a student researcher alongside faculty who shared his interests. His creative background made him a natural fit for applied research projects in the arts, culture and economic development, eventually evolving into his current work, Amplifying Impact, a statewide music census in partnership with Music Idaho and funded by a National Science Foundation Transform Grant. Through a survey and targeted focus groups, the project is an effort to better understand Idaho\u2019s music ecosystem and creative economy. \u201cWe want to understand: who\u2019s here, what is the impact of Idaho\u2019s music economy, and is it sustainable?\u201d Matt said. \u201cWe want not just the data, but the stories behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investing in Idaho<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Matt, helping expand and support the creative community here in Idaho is what makes his research, doctoral studies and creative work so meaningful. \u201cIf everyone who had a dream of pursuing a creative career left Boise to chase it elsewhere, we\u2019d be left with a place that didn\u2019t have as much visionary leadership or direction,\u201d Matt explained. \u201cCreatives here can do high-level work while maintaining a culture and community that aligns with the values people here care about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Lainey Rehkemper<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The words \u201ccreative\u201d and “policy\u201d might seem like an unlikely pair. But Matt Wordell, Public…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2441,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1522],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sps-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA creative\u2019s path to policy: how one PhD student is helping shape Idaho\u2019s creative economy - Public Service<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A creative\u2019s path to policy: how one PhD student is helping shape Idaho\u2019s creative economy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The words \u201ccreative\u201d and “policy\u201d might seem like an unlikely pair. But Matt Wordell, Public...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Public Service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-17T19:41:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T19:53:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/137\/2025\/11\/image-text-17-664x630.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"664\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lainey Rehkemper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lainey Rehkemper\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lainey Rehkemper\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/#\/schema\/person\/7f854595597cdfc64691fd6ceb5876b3\"},\"headline\":\"A creative\u2019s path to policy: how one PhD student is helping shape Idaho\u2019s creative economy\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-17T19:41:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-12T19:53:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/\"},\"wordCount\":465,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/137\/2025\/11\/image-text-17-660x660.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"SPS News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/\",\"name\":\"A creative\u2019s path to policy: how one PhD student is helping shape Idaho\u2019s creative economy - Public Service\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/137\/2025\/11\/image-text-17-660x660.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-17T19:41:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-12T19:53:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/#\/schema\/person\/7f854595597cdfc64691fd6ceb5876b3\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/137\/2025\/11\/image-text-17.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/137\/2025\/11\/image-text-17.png\",\"width\":664,\"height\":664,\"caption\":\"Matt Wordell\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/\",\"name\":\"Public Service\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/#\/schema\/person\/7f854595597cdfc64691fd6ceb5876b3\",\"name\":\"Lainey Rehkemper\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/author\/elainerehkemper\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A creative\u2019s path to policy: how one PhD student is helping shape Idaho\u2019s creative economy - Public Service","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A creative\u2019s path to policy: how one PhD student is helping shape Idaho\u2019s creative economy","og_description":"The words \u201ccreative\u201d and “policy\u201d might seem like an unlikely pair. But Matt Wordell, Public...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/","og_site_name":"Public Service","article_published_time":"2025-11-17T19:41:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-12T19:53:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":664,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/137\/2025\/11\/image-text-17-664x630.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Lainey Rehkemper","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lainey Rehkemper"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/"},"author":{"name":"Lainey Rehkemper","@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/#\/schema\/person\/7f854595597cdfc64691fd6ceb5876b3"},"headline":"A creative\u2019s path to policy: how one PhD student is helping shape Idaho\u2019s creative economy","datePublished":"2025-11-17T19:41:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-12T19:53:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/"},"wordCount":465,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/137\/2025\/11\/image-text-17-660x660.png","articleSection":["SPS News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/","url":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/","name":"A creative\u2019s path to policy: how one PhD student is helping shape Idaho\u2019s creative economy - Public Service","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/137\/2025\/11\/image-text-17-660x660.png","datePublished":"2025-11-17T19:41:59+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-12T19:53:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/#\/schema\/person\/7f854595597cdfc64691fd6ceb5876b3"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/2025\/11\/a-creatives-path-to-policy-how-one-phd-student-is-helping-shape-idahos-creative-economy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/137\/2025\/11\/image-text-17.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/137\/2025\/11\/image-text-17.png","width":664,"height":664,"caption":"Matt Wordell"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/","name":"Public Service","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/#\/schema\/person\/7f854595597cdfc64691fd6ceb5876b3","name":"Lainey Rehkemper","url":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/blog\/author\/elainerehkemper\/"}]}},"featured_image_url":"","author_name":"Lainey Rehkemper","cats":["SPS News"],"featured_caption":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2441"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101030"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101449,"href":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101030\/revisions\/101449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/sps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}