Carolyn Taylor Meyer

Carolyn (Taylor) Meyer is Director of Experiential Learning at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She works with faculty, students, and partners on experiential learning programs including semester-long practica, global courses, and community-engaged research projects. She also serves as the Institute representative for external fellowships like the US Fulbright, Boren, CLS, and Projects for Peace. 

She served as the main staff member for the Frontier Market Scouts (FMS) impact investing and social enterprise fellowship during its first three years of development. In addition to semester-long experiential learning programs, Carolyn works with MIIS international faculty-led courses. These courses are on-site courses offered in January, over Spring Break, and during the summer with partners and at locations around the world (ex: AUC in Egypt, PIH in Rwanda, Aga Khan in Kenya, and CTU in the Czech Republic). 

She advises MIIS graduate students interested in participating in a semester-long experiential learning programs while also building a network of international and domestic internship opportunities at field and headquarter locations within the security, environmental policy, conflict resolution, social enterprise, and development sectors. She advises students on fellowship opportunities. She sits on the Middlebury Global Operations Committee and works with students, faculty, and staff on security and safety planning. She also sits on the Experiential Learning Funding (ELF) Committee and Institute Committee for Art in Public Places (ICAPP). 

Carolyn has extensive experience working with academic communities, both as a faculty and staff member. She worked on staff at Butler University’s Office of International Student Services and in the creation of the Monterey College of Law’s Mandell-Gisnett Center for Conflict Management. Prior to joining the Institute in 2006, she served as a public relations consultant for educational institutions in Monterey County, worked as a legislative analyst for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Washington, DC, edited online content at the Indianapolis Star, and worked in publishing at the American College of Sports Medicine. She has also served as a regular adjunct instructor in International Relations and Politics of Developing Countries at the Monterey Peninsula College for nine years and taught US Foreign Relations at California State Monterey Bay. 

Carolyn has traveled to over 70 countries and has spent time studying in Spain and working in Mexico. International projects include participation in a human capacity-building project with the Rumicocha Foundation in Quito, Ecuador, coordination of a project management training at Partners in Health in Rwanda, co-design of a social entrepreneurship certificate program in India, and coordination of a Peace and Reconciliation onsite course in the Balkans.