Matt
Hartley
Staff Policy Operations Lead
Trust & Safety — Vercel
Over a decade of experience scaling
Trust & Safety operations in high growth startups.
Greenville, SC — Vercel, formerly GitHub
Building trust at scale.
I'm a Trust & Safety operations and policy leader with deep expertise in copyright (DMCA), trademark, and Identity & Access. I focus on transparent, consistent enforcement and durable operational systems that help teams make clear, defensible decisions at scale.
I'm currently at Vercel, where I lead Trust & Safety work across IP enforcement—reviewing, processing, and resolving DMCA takedown notices and trademark infringement claims—and Identity & Access support, ensuring reliable end-to-end workflows and high-quality outcomes. Previously, I spent over four years at GitHub helping shape Trust & Safety policy and operations during a period of rapid growth and significant organizational change, including the Microsoft acquisition.
I'm known for calm, empathetic judgment, meticulous attention to detail, and the ability to translate complex legal requirements into clear guidance for diverse stakeholders.
When I'm not working, I'm spending time with my wife and five children, exploring the outdoors, gardening, or cooking meals to share with others.
IP Enforcement
DMCA takedowns, trademark infringement claims, and operational compliance with evolving legal standards.
Policy & Operations
Building and continuously improving internal policies, procedures, and enforcement guidelines that increase consistency and resiliency.
Cross-Functional Leadership
Partnering with Legal, Engineering, Product, and Compliance to streamline workflows, reduce friction, and improve operational efficiency.
Where I've made an impact.
Staff Policy Operations Lead, Trust & Safety
- —Built and sustained DMCA Safe Harbor compliance by standardizing policy-aligned intake, review, and enforcement workflows
- —Designed scalable trademark and abuse enforcement systems to support high-volume reporting and consistent decisions
- —Preserved high availability for reported sites through technical enforcement innovations that minimized unnecessary disruption
- —Improved resolution speed by 35%+ while strengthening SLA visibility and operational accountability
- —Enabled 90% case delegation through workflow design, documentation, and contractor training/enablement
- —Introduced AI-assisted evaluation to accelerate infringement review while improving consistency and decision quality
Senior Safety Support Specialist
- —Reviewed, processed, and resolved intellectual property complaints including DMCA takedowns and trademark infringement claims
- —Implemented a customer-centric approach, educating stakeholders on IP processes and fostering transparency
- —Developed and maintained comprehensive documentation for all DMCA and trademark workflows
- —Collaborated cross-functionally with Trust & Safety, compliance, and engineering teams
Senior Policy Operations Manager, Trust & Safety
- —Created, updated, and improved internal policy, procedure, and enforcement guidelines
- —Shaped site policy updates in collaboration with legal and policy teams
- —Developed improvements to front-end user safety features and admin tools with engineering
- —Managed quality assurance and led team development, training, and mentoring
Trust & Safety Manager
Led the Trust & Safety team through organizational changes during GitHub's acquisition by Microsoft.
- —Planned and executed the Trust & Safety team's move from Support to the Legal organization
- —Defined team vision and goals, aligning members toward shared objectives
- —Managed hiring, onboarding, performance evaluations, and high-stakes escalations
Trust & Safety Specialist
Founding member of GitHub's Trust & Safety team, creating workflows and enforcement rubrics from the ground up.
Account Support Specialist
User account support focusing on account access, ownership disputes, billing, and spam.
Foundation & growth.
The Iron Yard Academy
Front-End Engineering, Graduate
Intensive 12-week front-end engineering program, committing 60-80 hours per week covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and modern web application development.
Criswell College
Bachelor of Arts, Biblical Studies
Summa Cum Laude, 3.86 GPA. Research-based degree focused on communication, writing, instruction, and public speaking.
"Matt is one of the most empathetic, creative, results-oriented people I have ever had the pleasure to work with. He has the uncanny ability to view things from all different perspectives and angles. Matt will be an extraordinary addition to anyone's team."
Expertise & capabilities.
Trust & Safety
- DMCA Enforcement
- Trademark Infringement
- IP Compliance
- Content Moderation
- Safety Engineering
- Escalation Management
Leadership
- Team Building
- Coaching & Mentoring
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Strategic Planning
- Performance Management
- Onboarding & Training
Policy & Operations
- Policy Development
- Process Optimization
- Quality Assurance
- Documentation
- Workflow Design
- Stakeholder Communication
Domain Expertise
- Intellectual Property
- Legal Compliance
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Risk Assessment
- Research & Analysis
Let's connect.
Interested in discussing trust & safety, IP enforcement, or potential collaborations? I'd love to hear from you.