Think Creative Spring 2024

Creative Life

a mission-driven community

walk this way A day in the life of a Creative team member

Megan McCune Senior Field Operations Manager Field Operations

I love capacity-building and the fast pace of start-ups and close-outs, which led me to Creative in 2018, where I joined as a Field Operations Manager. My job is to support field teams and facilitate their work. Field Ops is unique. We provide operations expertise “from the cradle to the grave” (or from capture to close), and I love that every day presents new challenges, new questions and new ways to support and grow the impact of our programs.

but I find that I thrive in uncertainty. My journey to international development started at 18 with a life-changing trip to Morocco. I spent weeks exploring, taking local buses, trekking the Atlas Mountains and experiencing the incredible hospitality of the Moroccan people. It was a transformative experience. After earning a degree in journalism, international affairs and Spanish, I went to graduate school at American University’s

Getting to know a rural community in remote northern Tanzania during an education program start-up in 2018.

I love that every day presents new challenges, new questions, new ways to support and grow the impact of our programs.” “

In December, I traveled to Hanoi, Vietnam, to support the start-up of the new USAID Vietnam Local Capacity Development program. After 30+ hours traveling, I hit the ground running: Looking at office space, checking out local banks, vetting vendors, initiating early procurements, meeting with USAID and supporting our Chief of Party Barry Reed. Fortunately, our amazing Operations Director, Nhan Dang, knows more about navigating the operating environment of Vietnam than anyone. It’s my job to solve start-up problems in a “creative” way. I bring the HQ systems and resources, and local staff like Nhan utilize their knowledge and connections to kickstart the operational infrastructure. No start-up is ever 100 percent smooth,

School of International Service in Washington, D.C. I took internships in Tanzania and Bulgaria, which cemented my commitment to the industry. My first “real” job was as a grants and contracts officer for a small NGO, but I ached for more adventure. In truth, it was the optimal way to begin my career: I spent years learning about USAID rules and regs, and there’s nothing more relevant to our work than compliance! I’ve now been in international development for over 15 years. In that time, I’ve led roughly 18 start-ups, 19 close-outs and traveled to more than 70 countries—including Morocco, where I returned as an industry professional almost 20 years after that first visit as a teenager, and never looked back. n

Visiting the Mohatta Palace Museum with local staff in Karachi, Pakistan, during close out of the Pakistan Reading Program in 2019.

Megan (right) poses with Sierra Poske (left) and Liz Caney in Abuja, Nigeria, as Creative’s in country start-up team for the West Africa Trade & Investment Hub in 2020.

Photos provided by Megan McCune

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