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Meghan Sweeney is an Associate with ENVIRON International Corporation in their Baltimore, Maryland office. She conducts environmental due diligence audits and assists industrial clients with regulatory compliance and permitting. Meghan was a 2003-2004 Dutko Fellow at the Republican Governors Association, where she assisted with campaigning, fundraising, and event planning.
At Tufts, Meghan majored in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Political Science. She was President of the Tufts Republicans and active in the John McCain 2000 Presidential campaign. Meghan also served as Chair of the Tufts Programming Board and Spirit Coalition. In 2006, Meghan received a Masters in Science from MIT in Technology in Policy with a focus in environmental legislation.
In 2003, as a chemical engineering major from Tufts with a strong desire to work in politics, I had no idea how I was going to combine my political interests with my academic background and find a place I could make a difference in Washington, DC. I needed the chance to pursue my passion to work on political campaigns and also to explore DC and find out how I could best merge politics and engineering into a policy career. The Dutko Fellowship was the best opportunity for doing just that. As a Fellow at the Republican Governors Association and with the constant support of Dutko Group partners, I was able to explore my interests and develop a unique and fulfilling career path.
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) is an ideal placement for a Dutko Fellow. Due to the small office size, I was able to assist with projects for every department and contribute on a range of tasks including marketing, fundraising, event planning, communications, and political opposition research. The variety of assignments helped me understand the complexity of electoral politics, which is ultimately the starting block for all future public policy.
Having a Dutko Fellowship is like having a backstage pass to the DC political scene. As a Dutko Fellow, I was given opportunities to work fundraising events for political candidates and meet former Presidents. When the Dutko partners found out that I had an ambition to work at the EPA, they took me to meet then EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt. It was an experience that stays with me, especially now as I pursue a career in environmental policy.
In 2006, I graduated from MIT with a Masters of Science in Technology and Policy. My wide variety of experience in DC as a Dutko Fellow allowed me to offer my classmates a unique perspective on the intersection of corporate fundraising, lobbying, and policymaking. Today, as an Associate for an environmental consulting firm, I am constantly reminded of my Dutko Fellowship experience and how I witnessed first hand the delicate and complex political system that drives policymaking in the US.
One of the greatest aspects of the Fellowship is the strong emphasis on mentorship, both from the Dutko partners and from individual placements. The Dutko Group offers not only support and, but they also work to inspire and challenge us by providing a range of opportunities that allows us to create our own unique paths as Fellows. Mine was one of meeting high-profile political candidates and working on campaigns from the most basic grassroots level of hanging signs to the highest level of organizing events for corporate donors. My experiences as a Dutko Fellow solidified my desire to work in Washington and contribute to campaigns, using politics and policy as my way of making an impact.
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