Oct 20 2022 40 mins
In this episode, we speak with Meghan Keegan of the Albany Common Council. We discuss social workers as elected officials and the benefits of bringing the social work perspective to the table in the political arena.
Bio:
Meghan Keegan holds a Masters in Social Welfare (2006) from the University at Albany. She spent the first 15 years of her career working with special victims, at risk youth, and individuals with disabilities in the non-profit community based sector and in state government. That included 10 years of government oversight work holding publicly funded programs accountable and 7 years as a civilian investigator working alongside law enforcement on special victims cases throughout New York State. Meghan was a leader in organized labor and currently works for organized labor (PEF-AFLCIO).
Since 2015, Meghan has volunteered with a national non-profit organization (New Leaders Council) working to develop leadership capacity among young progressives with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. There she helped build the Capital District NY Chapter serving as Chapter Director and Institute Chair, served for 2 years on the National Programs Committee, and served as the National Policy Lead for the Women’s Caucus. Here in the City of Albany, Meghan helped to launch the first Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Programs, served on the Albany High School Community Engagement Team, and has been directly involved in various community efforts surrounding issues of gun violence, food security, access to affordable childcare and housing, and home ownership. Meghan lives with her husband and two rescue dogs in the City of Albany.