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Matthew Brigham, M.S., Lieutenant, USCG

Instructor, Marine Science Marine and Environmental Sciences

LT Matt Brigham

Hailing from southern Maryland, LT Brigham is a 2015 graduate from the Coast Guard Academy where he earned a B.S. degree in Marine and Environmental Sciences. After graduation, he first served as Deck Watch Officer aboard USCGC Polar Star (WAGB 10) home ported in Seattle, Washington, where he made two Operation Deep Freeze patrols to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. This mission supported the National Science Foundation by conducting ice breaking operations to create a navigable route for cargo vessels to resupply McMurdo Station. In summer 2017, LT Brigham was assigned to Apra Harbor, Guam as Executive Officer of USCGC Assateague (WPB 1336). He led the decommissioning of Assateague in October 2017 and concurrent crew change over to USCGC Kiska (WPB 1337) following a relocation of home port to Guam, where he served as Executive Officer until 2019. Remaining in Guam, LT Brigham transferred to USCGC Sequoia (WLB 215) as Executive Officer. In 2021, he was selected for the Coast Guard’s Advanced Education program in Oceanography, and in 2023, earned a M.S. degree in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. After completing graduate school, LT Brigham reported to the Coast Guard Academy.

Education

M.S., Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 2023
B.S., Marine and Environmental Sciences, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 2015

Courses Taught

Atmospheric and Marine Science
Oceans I: Air and Sea

Selected Publications and Presentations

Thesis: Brigham, Matthew, M., 2023. Nutrient compositions in southeast Greenland waters and polar water influence on distribution. Scripps Institution of Oceanography. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0gj9p02t

Honors and Awards

National Honor Society Induction – University of California, San Diego Chapter

Professional Affiliations

The Oceanography Society
American Geophysical Union

Contact Information

Email: Matthew.M.Brigham@uscga.edu

Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.