Megan B. Lyster

Megan Lyster has supported students, faculty, and staff in designing and implementing project-based learning experiences since 2007. She taught courses in design, social entrepreneurship, and women in business at Hampshire College, and served as the co-director of the Hampshire College Social Venture Fund and Advisory Network from 2010 – 2013. Megan then transitioned to supporting faculty as the Instructional Designer for Experiential Learning in the Amherst College Center for Community Engagement, where she facilitated community-based and project-based learning initiatives inside and outside the classroom. While at Amherst, she developed and facilitated the Design Thinking Challenge, an intensive program in which small teams of students grappled with and identified potential solutions for campus-based challenges. She also partnered with Sheila (and later, Sarah) to co-develop the Being Human in STEM initiative from its inception in the Spring of 2016, and served as a co-designer and co-instructor for seven iterations of the HSTEM course, with a specialized focus on the development and implementation of student-led projects. In her current role as the Assistant Director in the Wurtele Center for Leadership at Smith College, Megan supports students, faculty, and staff to cultivate the creativity, courage, and collaborative capacity to facilitate positive change in the world. Megan received her B.A. in 2002 from Hampshire College, and her M.A. in 2009 from Prescott College.