Maeghan is a Collaborative Research Manager at the University of Michigan Water Center, where she serves as a project manager engaging multi-disciplinary, multi-sector teams to develop and implement end user driven collaborative research projects. She supports National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative projects and helps to coordinate the Program’s regular requests for proposals. Maeghan joined the Water Center in February 2013 with a multidisciplinary background in conservation science and policy and experience bringing these two worlds together to effectively promote natural resource protection and restoration. Previously, Maeghan worked in the government relations department for New Jersey Audubon where she served as the bridge between on-the-ground research and restoration and policymaking that connects such efforts on a larger scale. She also contributed substantially to the coordination of a statewide coalition. Prior to her work at New Jersey Audubon, she worked for a variety of nonprofit organizations in the DC-metro area where she focused on a range of wildlife and habitat issues. A native of northern Indiana, Maeghan is excited to be applying her skills and experience closer to home. Maeghan earned an M.S. in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology and M.P.P. in Environmental Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a B.S. in Environmental Science from Indiana University, Bloomington. In her free time, Maeghan enjoys running and exploring natural areas with her husband and two young sons.