Megan Ward

Administrative Director
m.ward@uga.edu

Originally from Jupiter, Florida, Megan Ward fled the Gator state to be a double-dawg, earning both her Bachelors and Masters in Public Relations from Grady College. An NMI alumna herself, Megan has been with the NMI since 2011, serving in a variety of roles: Graduate Assistant, Program Coordinator, Faculty, and, most recently, Administrative Director. In her current role as Administrative Director, Megan oversees operations for the NMI and its wide range of programs and people.

Founded in 2000, the New Media Certificate is the NMI’s flagship program and TEDxUGA was added to the Institute in 2013. Under Megan’s leadership, the NMI has grown substantially since 2015 and introduced a slew of new programs: Emerging Media Masters (Residential, Online, Double Dawgs), Spark Awards, Professional Fridays, Fundsters, NMIXpo, and more.

In the classroom, Megan teaches a variety of courses for the New Media Certificate, Emerging Media Masters, Office of Student Success and Achievement, and the Graduate School. Her teaching specialty focuses on harnessing the power of presentations to engage and transform audiences. True to the NMI spirit, Megan’s classrooms are industry-focused and designed to create meaningful learning experiences, equipping students to enter the workforce a stride ahead of their peers.

As TEDxUGA Licensee, Megan has served as the driving force behind all things TED on campus since 2013. Megan leads all organization and curation efforts for the annual TEDxUGA event each spring and also consults for TEDxJNJ. To date, Megan has produced more than 15 TEDx events with 150+ presenters and a combined viewership nearing 7 million.

On campus, Megan participated in the inaugural Women’s Leadership Institute in 2016 and served as a Service-Learning Fellow during 2018-2019.

Off campus, Megan is a foster parent who has cared for over 100 children. She and her wife, Amanda, were honored as the 2022 Region 5 Caregivers of the Year for their dedication to working closely with birth parents toward reunification and preparing teens for adulthood before aging out of care. Megan also serves as Director for two nonprofits, The Five Hive and Home in 5, both focused on increasing support and resources for the local foster care community.

When not wrangling the NMI or children, you can find Megan enjoying a craft beer or hitting the road (or skies) for a new travel adventure. Her ultimate dream destination is Antarctica – don’t worry, she will send pictures!