Megan Smith serves as project director for the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship Program.

In this role, Megan works closely with the U.S. Department of State to deliver a transformative, leadership development experience for young entrepreneurs from Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

With more than 12 years of management experience in educational and professional leadership programs, Megan builds strong teams of staff and partners to provide meaningful exchange program experiences. Before joining IREX in April 2015, Megan was deputy country director for Caring for Cambodia, an educational organization in Cambodia, designing and delivering student programming and teacher training for government schools.

Before joining IREX, Megan served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Laclubar, Timor-Leste, where she collaborated with local health workers to develop health education strategies and techniques and worked with a local social enterprise to develop a sustainable business model.

Megan holds an MA in international educational development from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a BA in history from Rice University.