Greetings colleagues:

NCHE has welcomed a new team member that we'd like to introduce you to.

Megan Johnson, based out of the Seattle area, has joined the NCHE team with a primary focus on providing technical assistance on the inclusion of education in coordinated community responses to youth and young adult homelessness in Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) communities. Megan comes to NCHE with an interesting background that will be valuable for the work she’ll be taking on within our team.

Megan is passionate about the intersection of policy and education, specifically around improving outcomes for students experiencing homelessness. In her previous career, she was an addictions therapist working with youth and adults who met diagnosis for substance abuse and mental health. She enjoys being part of the change process at the individual and community levels, which served as the catalyst to motivate her to get her Master’s in Public Administration from Seattle University.

During her graduate education, much of her research centered on education in the K-12 system. For her thesis, she focused on the McKinney-Vento Act and interviewed local homeless education liaisons around her home state of Washington to learn more about interventions different districts use to support students experiencing homelessness, funding usages, and ground-level issues liaisons encounter on a daily basis. She presented the outcomes of her research to the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Megan also has worked at the Seattle Vocational Institute as a research assistant, engaged in policy work focused on equity at the King County Metro Transit Department, and served as the legislative aide for the Washington State Legislature Speaker of the House. Just prior to joining NCHE, Megan worked at A Way Home Washington providing technical assistance to four Washington communities to support the inclusion of the K-12 and higher education systems in data-driven efforts to end homelessness for unaccompanied youth and young adults.

Welcome, Megan!

Best,

Christina