8th Class, 2015-2017
Policy Placement: Concern Worldwide; Dublin, Ireland
Based in Dublin, Ireland Meghan worked within Concern World wide’s International Advocacy Team to improve global and national policy and practice related to hunger and nutrition. As Nutrition Advocacy Officer, Meghan’s work included contributing to tracking Ireland’s commitments on hunger and nutrition, representing Concern’s nutrition advocacy at the EU level, and supporting the annual development, launch, and dissemination of the Global Hunger Index report. She also built on her field year in Malawi by supporting Concern’s nutrition programmes, with a focus on documenting learnings from the implementation of Concern’s CMAM Surge approach and promoting the approach at national and international levels.
Field Placement: Concern Worldwide; Lilongwe, Malawi
Based in Lilongwe, Malawi, Meghan worked with Concern Worldwide to ensure that nutrition interventions were designed and implemented in line with best practices, facilitate the integration of nutrition across Concern Malawi’s programs, and support advocacy efforts related to Scaling Up Nutrition in Malawi. As Concern’s Nutrition Advisor, Meghan implemented a Trials of Improved Practices (TIPs) study on complementary feeding practices and conducted monitoring and evaluation of an operations research study assessing the effectiveness of a child feeding toolkit to improve the volume and consistency of complementary foods. Meghan also led efforts to develop and implement an integration strategy for Concern’s nutrition and agriculture programs. Lastly, she informed the Civil Society Organisation Nutrition Alliance’s (CSONA) strategy and advocacy efforts by analyzing the extent to which nutrition is addressed in key national-level policies and strategies.
Education and Experience:
Meghan served as a 2014-2015 Global Health Corps Fellow with Gardens for Health International in Rwanda, working to lead and strengthen the organization’s data-driven decision making. In her work, she refined GHI’s nutrition, health, and agriculture-related indicators, frameworks, and tools to better assess programmatic impact, with an emphasis on the adoption of optimal maternal, infant, and young child nutrition practices. Previously, Meghan spent three years with John Snow, Inc., a public health management consulting organization, where she provided technical assistance to USAID’s flagship maternal and child health and nutrition programs, including the Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING) Project.
Meghan received her MA in International Studies and a certificate in Humanitarian Assistance from the University of Denver. While in graduate school, she focused her studies on emergency food security and nutrition, held internships on cash-based interventions during emergencies with Save the Children and Mercy Corps, and conducted fieldwork on the geospatial determinants of health in peri-urban slums in New Delhi, India. A New Jersey native, Meghan holds a BA in International Studies and Sociology from Boston College and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Delivery Science for International Nutrition from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.