Megan Moran, Ph.D. joins Worcester State University as Director of the Binienda Center for Civic Engagement, bringing more than a decade of experience in higher education, nonprofit leadership, and community partnership development. With deep roots in Worcester, she is eager to invest her leadership in the city where her civic and creative work first took shape.
Most recently at Brandeis University, Megan played a central role in launching and scaling the $10-million endowed Samuels Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation (COMPACT), supporting its growth into a multi-program operation serving students, faculty, staff, and community partners through civic learning, research, fellowships, internships, and global engagement initiatives.
Previously, Megan served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at her alma mater, the College of the Holy Cross, where her community-engaged teaching and research was featured in the Boston Globe. She is also a nonprofit founder and longtime community collaborator, having served as co-founder and executive director of the Worcester Hip Hop Congress. In recognition of her local impact, Worcester Magazine named her a “Hometown Hero” for her contributions to arts-based community engagement.
Trained as a musicologist, Megan brings an arts-based approach to civic engagement, emphasizing creativity, storytelling, and cultural knowledge as powerful tools for learning, partnership, and social change. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a leading public research university, she holds a deep appreciation for the transformative role of public higher education in expanding access, opportunity, and civic participation. She is excited to work alongside Worcester State students, faculty, staff, and community partners to grow civic learning opportunities and strengthen the mission of the Binienda Center in service of the Worcester community she lives in and loves.
