Megan Mermis – Communications Associate, Communications Department
Megan joins the Foundation after working at the Academy for Educational Development, on a USAID-funded public health policy and advocacy project focused on Sub-Saharan Africa. She worked on the communications and advocacy team, coordinating the creation and dissemination of publications, working with public health professionals to craft meaningful presentations, and organizing an African forum on Public-Private Partnerships to improve child health and reduce malaria. She served as the project’s representative to HIPNet and the USAID Communications Working Group on HIV/AIDS. Prior to living in DC, Megan lived and worked in Chicago for a small international software company as part of their marketing and communications team.

Dana Schmidt – Fellow, QEDC Initiative (Global Development)
Dana first joined the Quality Education for Developing Countries initiative in October 2006 as a recipient of the Tom Ford Fellowship in Philanthropy, a post-graduate fellowship offered through Stanford University’s Haas Center for Public Service.  She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University in 2005 with an undergraduate degree in economics and African s studies.  In 2006 she completed her master’s degree in International Educational Administration and Policy Analysis at the Stanford University School of Education, writing her thesis on the impact of the elimination of primary school fees on enrollment in Kenya.  As an undergraduate, Dana spent five months teaching secondary school students in Kenya and taught science education in Zambia for a summer.  She also spent the summer of 2005 as a Philanthropy Fellow at the Foundation, working with the Regional Grants and Philanthropy programs.
 
Tom Steinbach – Program Officer, Environment
Tom comes to the Hewlett Foundation after eight-years as executive director of Greenbelt Alliance, the San Francisco Bay Area land conservation and urban planning nonprofit organization.  In this role, he used public policy advocacy and community organizing to protect open space and guide growth toward the region’s existing cities and towns.  He has also worked on federal and state natural resource policy as conservation director at the Appalachian Mountain Club, sustainable development issues in Nepal, and on hazardous waste and community involvement projects as a consultant to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. He also worked on, macro-economic analysis for the Congressional Congressional Budget Office.  In 2007, Tom was honored as a recipient of the University of California’s Nonprofit Leadership Fellowship. He holds a B.A. economics from the University of Rochester and a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Return to November 2007 Newsletter