Megan Carroll

Since completing the Sauvé Program, Megan has led the United Nations Development Programme’s Democracy and Participation portfolio in South Sudan. As the first person to hold this role, she served as the focal point for the constitutional review process and elections. Prior to this, she was Acting Director/Deputy Director of The Carter Center’s Democracy Program in South Sudan and Sudan; Democracy and Governance Advisor to USAID/South Sudan at a critical juncture when the mission transitioned from a US Consulate to Embassy in a newly-independent South Sudan; and an international observer in rural insecure areas for South Sudan’s referendum on independence. Throughout her work, Megan developed and maintained key relationships with host government representatives, international and national NGOs, civil society, and donors.

In August 2014, Megan was named a White House Fellow, Class of 2014-2015. The White House Fellows program was created in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to give promising American leaders “first hand, high-level experience with the workings of the Federal government, and to increase their sense of participation in national affairs.” This unique opportunity to work within our nation’s government is designed to encourage active citizenship and a lifelong commitment to service. The Fellows take part in an education program designed to broaden their knowledge of leadership, policy formulation, and current affairs.

In June 2016, Megan moved to NYC from Washington, DC to work at the United Nations Secretariat, where she is currently serving as the leader of the Partnerships Team for the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support. In this role, she works to develop relationships and collaboration with external partners, including most recently the World Bank on a joint UN-WB study on the prevention of violent conflict.

A dual citizen of Ireland and the United States, Megan has visited over 30 countries. She had previously lived in South Africa as a Rotary International exchange student, Japan as a participant in the JET program, Guyana with the U.S. Department of State, and the Netherlands as a law clerk at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Before entering graduate school, Megan worked at Harvard University’s Committee on Human Rights Studies where she managed the Scholars at Risk program that  provides fellowships for persecuted academics from overseas. She also spent time in Sierra Leone and Liberia with the International Rescue Committee on a project focused on countering youth and child labour through education. She spent three years as a Resident Tutor in Public Service for Harvard undergraduates of Eliot House  and in 2007 was selected by McGill University to attend the International Forum for Young Leaders in Montreal. She has also served as a Senior Fellow of the Humanity in Action Foundation.

Originally from San Diego, California, Megan received a Masters in Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where she was a Kennedy Fellow. She was also a member of Harvard’s Scholars at Risk Committee and of the Student Advisory Board of the Center for Public Leadership. Before entering graduate school, Megan worked at Harvard University’s Committee on Human Rights Studies where she managed the Scholars at Risk program, providing fellowships for persecuted academics from overseas. Megan graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College in 2002.  As an undergraduate, she spent a year studying international relations and human rights at the London School of Economics. Prior to becoming a Sauvé Fellow, Megan interned at the Noor Al-Hussein Foundation of Jordan.

Links

• Sauvé Spotlight: Megan Carroll
• Megan Carroll named White House Fellow

Megan was motivated to be a Sauvé Fellow to learn from a diverse group of peers who share her passion to advance human rights and engage in social justice work. She continued her involvement in refugee advocacy while researching humanitarian policy issues, with a strong focus on ways to reform and modernize U.S. foreign assistance. She took classes and applied new insights to a career in advocacy and international development.

Megan remains in touch with her “Sauvé siblings” and is truly grateful for the time she spent living at Sauvé House.