What she's done Meg has been involved in research, both qualitative and quantitative, in a variety of settings: psychology, public health and epidemiology, education, public television. Before coming to NDR, she worked on research projects ranging from assessing the impact and appeal of Sesame Street to analyzing decision-making strategies used by farmers in East Africa to identifying opportunities for growth for a summer music school in Vermont to understanding the impact of early family relationships on teenage mothers from a high-risk population. Meg began her career as a high school math teacher, inventing her own curriculum, in essence selling math to students who were reluctant consumers. She went on to co-found her own company, Kaleidoscope: Teaching Math Through Art, with a visual artist, bringing a level of both entrepreneurship and creative vision to her mathematics efforts, and reaching a much broader student base. It was her interest in students and learning that then led her to a job on a research study exploring the psychology of teens in trouble. She fell in love with all aspects of research: designing studies, gathering and analyzing data, interviewing respondents and getting inside their heads. Since coming to NDR, Meg has worked with a broad range of clients, including L’Oréal, LexisNexis, Sallie Mae, Liberty Mutual, and UnitedHealthcare. Why research? Research is the perfect marriage of Meg's different sides: her curiosity about what makes people tick, her bent for numbers and figuring things out logically, and her ability to look at issues from every possible angle. Meg brings to her work her understanding of psychology, of mathematical methods and data analysis, and of how to communicate with and listen to people of all ages and from all walks of life. Meg's analytic nature is reflected in her clear writing and in her ability to turn data and findings into meaningful stories. Clients especially appreciate her tenacious nature and attention to nuance and every last detail. Most memorable projects (in her own words) The power of advertisement: The first advertising project I worked on fascinated me, as have others since. We were conducting focus groups to compare two different ad campaigns. I loved how listening to respondents talk about a simple magazine ad could be a window into their lives and mindset. It also was amazing to see how subtle changes in the way information was presented visually could have a significant emotional impact. This encapsulates what I love about research. Interviews about early childhood trauma: I interviewed young mothers living in the inner-city about their early family relationships. It was a very intense, long, personal interview. Many respondents shared traumatic experiences from their childhoods with me. It was both moving and illuminating. Education B.A., Oberlin College (Phi Beta Kappa, junior year) |
