Winter 2025 Commencement Speakers

The Winter Commencement speaker is the faculty member selected to receive the Faculty Excellence Award at MIIS. Dr. Megan McKenna, Academic Director of Study Away at Middlebury and an instructor in Environmental Policy & Management and the Online Master of Public Administration in Sustainability. 

Megan McKenna is a marine scientist, educator, and policy expert with extensive experience working at the intersection of ocean science, conservation, and public policy. Megan earned her Ph.D. from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and began her policy career in Washington, D.C. with the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission. She later served as a lead scientist with the U.S. National Park Service, where she worked to integrate remote sensing into natural resource management. Returning to California, she continued her research supporting ocean conservation and sustainability through big data analytics and by leading and contributing to cross-sector collaborations that drive sustainable ocean solutions from local to global levels.

At the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Megan teaches across several interdisciplinary programs, including the graduate Environmental Policy and Management program, online Master of Public Administration in Sustainability, and undergraduate California Coast and Climate Semester and the Middlebury School of the Environment. Her teaching emphasizes applied science, systems thinking, and the connection between local action and global change. 

The Commencement Student Speaker will be selected by the graduating class late this fall.