An Ann Arbor native, Meg earned her undergraduate degree at Michigan in cultural anthropology. Her interests in economic development are shaping her academic career here at UMSI, where she is studying information and communication technologies for development, or ICT4D. She finds that the courses at UMSI provide “useable information you can take into the field and make meaningful contributions.”

She had the opportunity to put that information into practice during the summer of 2012, when she landed an internship at Microsoft’s Technology for Emerging Markets Lab in Bangalore, where she worked with an anthropologist studying the use of social media in low-resource communities such as the shantytowns of Hyperabad. 

Living in Detroit in 2010 inspired her to think about the private sector as a primary engine to drive economic revival. To that end, she worked with an engineer to launch a biotech startup in a few locations in Detroit. The cultural anthropologist also finds time to explore and enjoy such authentic local attractions as Taquería El Rey in Mexicantown, and Bert’s Lounge, a jazz club located in Detroit’s Eastern Market.