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August 2, 2018 40 Under Forty 2018

Megan R. Gavin

Photo | Contributed

Age: 38

Company: Save the Children; others

Title: Sr. Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist

No. of years with current company: 15

Town where I live: West Hartford

Town where I work: West Hartford, worldwide

College: Boston College, Harvard, New School

Highest degree: Ph.D. in public policy

Megan Gavin's passion is answering challenging education development questions through quantitative and qualitative techniques. She has worked in Belize, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Tajikistan, and Tanzania; has provided backstop support for education systems in Ecuador, Ghana and Liberia and has written policy briefs on education systems in Afghanistan, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan and Peru.

In 2017, she reviewed Early Learning Development Standards for 37 countries with UNICEF and conducted a baseline and endline study on school mentoring in Ethiopia with Save the Children. She also teachers at the university level; during the 2017-2018 academic year she had the privilege to teach in UConn's public policy program.

What's been the biggest professional accomplishment so far in your career?

I published a case study and blog for United Nations Education Science Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on parental participation and accountability in education in Honduras.

How are you involved in the community?

To serve my community, I founded a local NGO, GrannyMani, which works with Girl Scouts in CT and nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in the state. Volunteers provide manicures to older adults while learning from the older adults and sharing special moments together.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I enjoy getting a relaxing massage with my best friend at Botanicals Day Spa in Avon.

What must the Greater Hartford region do to attract more talented young professionals to the area?

Invest in early childhood education; young professionals are attracted to an area based on an array of factors including the quality of services the area can provide to their families and children.

International and domestic evidence suggests that there are gains for both parents and children who participate in early education programs. Greater Hartford must be a leader for our nation.

Four reasons why you deserve to be a 40 Under Forty:

• Ran the Boston Marathon, to fundraise for the Boston College Campus School, which provides education to children with special needs.

• Was a Peace Corps volunteer from Nicaragua where I taught children and worked with teachers; I later lived there for five years.

• Wrote and won a $10 million proposal to provide early grade reading services to children and youth in Nicaragua; was the director during start-up.

• Served as team leader for five education performance evaluations and has worked on various performance evaluations worldwide.

Fun Fact 

I have worked and traveled to 40 countries and over 40 states and am proud to call West Hartford 'home.'

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