Megan Gleason (MSGH ’17) Shares Career Insights with Students

Megan Gleason has been a Registered Nurse for ten years, with the majority of her career focused on Maternal & Child Health. She has performed roles in a wide variety of settings including: inpatient neonatal intensive care, pediatric primary care, public health nursing and case management, and global health (specifically HIV/AIDS). She currently serves as a Senior HIV Treatment Advisor in the Pediatric Maternal Branch in the Office of HIV/AIDS at USAID- Washington. Megan holds a B.S. in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a MSGH from Georgetown University. During her time as a graduate student at Georgetown, Megan had the opportunity to intern at USAID.

In recalling her Field Research Module with USAID in Tanzania, Megan reflected on how her time abroad helped her to grow personally and professionally. Along with her research work, she engaged socially, building connections within the development-focused expatriate community in Dar es Salaam. Through this process, Megan learned that networking is important globally.

Following her Field Research Module and Scholarly Paper that explored pediatric patient retention on antiretroviral therapy in Tanzania, USAID hired Megan as a contractor to work on HIV/AIDS-related projects.

Megan provided the students with information about federal hiring, including opportunities to work within government as a contractor. Megan believes that it is critical to understand the organizations to which you are applying and outlined USAID’s structure and operations – particularly in terms of global health-related work.

Earlier this year, Megan returned from a two year tour in Maputo, Mozambique, where she was the Pediatric Advisor for USAID’s PEPFAR program. Since many MSGH alumni are considering potential work opportunities abroad, Megan shared some of the factors she took into consideration in her decision to complete a tour abroad.

Following the presentation, Megan took questions from students and shared a document providing federal application and hiring tips, including a list of relevant contractors, USAID internships, and foreign service entry requirements. Megan also provide some tips for job applications, in particular highlighting the importance of humility, program management skills, and versatility as capabilities and qualities for success in careers at USAID.

Knowing that many of the MSGH students’ Summer plans have been postponed or cancelled due to the novel coronavirus, Megan suggested ways for students make the most of their time. For example, she earned a Program Management Certificate at a local academic institution in Wisconsin following her MSGH degree, which helped make her more marketable. She also recommended pursuing academic research and publishing as a way of deepening your CV – even if research is not your stated professional objective.

Many thanks to Meagan for sharing her time and valuable insights about her global health path!