Summary
As the School of Public Health’s Director of Public Affairs and Policy, Megan works closely with faculty, staff, students and policymakers to increase awareness of policy as one of the most important levers to improve the health of communities. She leads the School’s efforts to enhance engagement in the legislative process—facilitating opportunities for students to participate in legislative proceedings, collaborating with faculty to integrate real-world policy issues and projects into courses and connecting policymakers with faculty who are subject matter experts to help inform data-driven policies.
Megan also serves as the coordinator for the Academic Health Department between the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno (UNR) and the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This formal affiliation provides mutual benefits around education, research, service and practice—where academia informs practice, and practitioners inform academic programs. The UNR-DHHS Academic Health Department works to enhance practice-oriented education and opportunities for students, expand opportunities for collaboration among agency staff and university faculty, build the evidence base for public health/health care through joint research projects, leverage resources from both institutions and provide numerous opportunities to develop the current and future public health and health care workforces.
Prior to joining the School of Public Health Megan spent seven years with the Research Division of the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Legislative Counsel Bureau, the nonpartisan staff agency that supports the ÁùºÏ±¦µä State Legislature. There, she focused on health policy, supported committees on health and human services and conducted policy research and analysis. Megan began her career in health policy at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Colorado.
Policy contributions
- , Division of Public and Behavioral Health, Feb. 2024
- , Research Division, ÁùºÏ±¦µä Legislative Counsel Bureau, April 2021
- , Research Division, ÁùºÏ±¦µä Legislative Counsel Bureau, October 2019
- , Research Division, ÁùºÏ±¦µä Legislative Counsel Bureau, January 2017
Education
- MPP, University of Denver
- B.A. International Studies-Political Science, University of California San Diego