Newmark Scholar Communicates Public Policy
This story was written by Cady Stanton as part of the McCourt School’s annual alumni magazine, Policy Perspectives.
Newmark Scholar Meghan Hall (MPP-EP’26) blends policy and public affairs.
Each year, the Craig Newmark Veterans Scholarship Fund offers tuition assistance to as many as nine graduate students. The recipients, who are exclusively active-duty service members, veterans or military-connected students, can utilize this support to pursue their policy education at the McCourt School. Among the 2025-2026 Newmark Scholars is Meghan Hall (MPP-EP’26), a military spouse and third-year student in the Master of Public Policy program.
Hall continues her UN work while earning her degree at McCourt.
After first gaining an interest in the dynamic nature of public policy as an undergraduate, Meghan has worked as a copywriter, a journalist and a ghostwriter for international organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme and the UN Institute for Training and Research. She is currently a communications manager in public affairs at the United Nations Foundation, where she facilitates web, email and social media content on interconnected issues from health to gender equality to humanitarian responses.
“I think that work really continued to foster my interest in the intersection between communication and public policy,” Meghan said.
Meghan has two close family who served in the military, in addition to her partner, who is active-duty military and based on the West Coast. Moving across the country from her partner has been difficult, but she says she’s incredibly grateful for the opportunity to explore her professional passions through the program. She notes the many challenges military spouses face in pursuit of their own careers, which is part of the reason she’s proud of the opportunities afforded by the Newmark fund.
“Thanks to the support from the program, I’m able to pursue my dreams alongside my partner’s as well,” she said. “That’s been hugely meaningful to me.”
Meghan, who has a B.A. in international relations and English from the University of San Diego, has a specific interest in how public affairs, global policy and advocacy interact. She hopes to use her degree to become a more thoughtful and effective communicator in the public affairs space and maximize her tangible impact on her community.
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