Megan (Meg) Keely Smith joined the Harvard Center for International Development (CID) in 2026 as a Project Manager supporting the Reimagining the Economy project's Global Economic Transformation initiative. Before CID, Meg first joined Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) as Faculty Assistant to Professor Marshall Ganz and the Practicing Democracy Project.
Prior to HKS, Meg spent six years in international development, primarily through USAID's Local Works program, the Agency's flagship locally led development initiative. As Program Analyst, she managed multi-million-dollar grant portfolios across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, with significant experience in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Her work spans program design and management, participatory grantmaking, gender research and analysis, community of practice support, knowledge management, and strategic communications, focused throughout on translating community-driven priorities into action. In 2025, she co-founded Local Works Global with former Local Works colleagues to carry the program's work forward.
Meg holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University with fields of study in Gender & Intersectional Analysis and Human Security & Humanitarian Affairs, as well as a BA in International Relations and French from the University of Southern California.