Placement: Center for Sustainable Rural Development, Hanoi, Vietnam
A native Minnesotan, Megan graduated with honors and Phi Beta Kappa from Lewis & Clark College in 2009 with a degree in environmental studies and conservation biology. During college Megan created a youth garden education program at a public housing development, worked as a Global Engagement Coordinator, and co-led new student trips focused on sustainable food systems. She also conducted research in Cuba, Turkey, Greece, and New Zealand, and completed an honors thesis on agricultural adaptation to climate change. Following graduation, Megan was an Emerson National Hunger Fellow working within Albuquerque middle schools as a youth organizer and with the National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) in Washington, D.C. conducting research regarding the role of policy in supporting beginning farmers as well as farm credit programs. In 2011 Megan left Washington, D.C and travelled to Santiago, Chile where she worked as a Fulbright research fellow at the Centro de Cambio Global researching the impact of climate change on vineyards in Central Chile. Recently, Megan was the Hunger Education Coordinator at the Food Bank of the Southern Tier in upstate New York. In this role Megan was responsible for directing an educational program that raised awareness around food insecurity, offered leadership development opportunities for low-income youth and supports student activism.
The Center for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) is a leading Vietnamese non-governmental organization that supports poor rural communities in adapting to the changing environment and in sustainably managing their own livelihoods. Their success is underpinned by a holistic approach to development, spanning from grass-roots capacity building to international advocacy.