Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies

Megan Rhodes has twenty-five years of public health, international development and humanitarian experience in more than 15 countries.  She has worked at USAID for twenty years, including three years at the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda and many years in Washington, D.C. She has contributed to almost all major U.S. global health initiatives of the last two decades:  HIV, malaria, food security, maternal & child health, COVID response, infectious disease outbreaks, and pandemic preparedness. Megan currently serves as a Senior Advisor for Global Health Security as USAID partners with more than 50 countries to prevent, detect, and respond to emerging infectious disease threats, including the deployment of an Outbreak Response Team to rapidly respond to disease outbreaks. Throughout her career, Megan has worked in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders in pursuit of improved health for all:  host country officials, the U.S. military, the National Security Council, multilateral institutions, academia, advocacy groups, civil society, and local organizations.  She is skilled in working with humanitarian actors and civil-military coordination in response to emergencies, as well as with foreign policy officials on  the role health plays in protecting national security.  Her public health career began as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps serving at the only HIV service organization in the interior of Alaska. Megan received her Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Boston College. She has a  Master of Science (ScM) in Health and Social Behavior from the Harvard School of Public Health and a Master of Arts (MA) in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. Megan is an affiliated expert of the Naval War College’s civil-military Humanitarian Response Program.