Matthew S. Collier - Early Life

Early Life

Matt Collier was born on November 15, 1957 in Flint, Michigan as the fourth of five sons of Florence and Charles Collier. Collier grew up on Flint’s Northwest side near Gundry Elementary School. In his youth, Collier attended Luke M. Powers High School, where he was a co-captain of the hockey team and President of the student government. Collier then attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he played hockey and earned a BS in general engineering in 1979. A year later, Collier married a member of the Military Academy’s first graduating class that included women, Ann Marie Hughes, a member of the West Point class of 1980.

Following his graduation from West Point, Collier achieved airborne-ranger status, and served as an officer in the U.S. Army for six years. As a Captain, in his final military assignment at the High Technology Test Bed in Fort Lewis, Washington, Collier became the youngest program manager in the Army. He then returned to his hometown of Flint, Michigan, where he served as the District Chief of Staff for US Congressman Dale E. Kildee for two years before announcing he would seek the office of Mayor of Flint.