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Megan Wanless

Megan Wanless
Megan is a Senior Community Animator at the Tamarack Institute and works across the organization to improve and deepen the learning experience for over 27,000 members within Tamarack’s learning communities and online platforms. Having worked with Tamarack for over 5 years, Megan oversees key strategic areas for the organization including strategic learning, content production and events. Prior to Tamarack, Megan worked in the field of international development, earning a Master of Social Science degree from the University of Edinburgh and worked in Malawi to engage with communities around sexual and reproductive rights using applied theatre. With a Bachelor Arts Degree in Theatre, Megan has been leveraging theatre as a tool for community change for many years and has had the pleasure of practicing it in communities within Canada as well as South Africa, Uganda and Malawi.
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Recent Posts

Tamarack Featured in The Record on Fight Against Poverty

Posted by Megan Wanless on January 22, 2019

Ending poverty is ‘the most important thing to do if you want peace in the world’ – Paul Born

Last month we were thrilled to have our Co-CEO, Paul Born, sit down with The Record to talk about Tamarack’s work in the fight to end poverty as well as an exciting new $2-million partnership with the federal government to support this work moving forward. 

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Leveraging Theatre Tools for Collaboration

Posted by Megan Wanless on January 8, 2019

We know that when tackling complex community issues, bringing a diversity of voices to the table is a key ingredient to finding the best path forward. We don’t however, always do a great job of intentionally creating an environment where people – with varying backgrounds and perspectives – can thrive and feel comfortable contributing. This is where leveraging tools and techniques from our friends in the theatre community can come in handy.

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Facing Challenges Together - A Reflection

Posted by Megan Wanless on August 21, 2017

This weekend I was asked to speak at Maple Grove United Church in Oakville, Ontario about some of my reflections working in the social change sector over the past few years. This offered me a great opportunity to think deeply about my journey so far and opened up some amazing conversations with Oakville residents about taking on complex challenges in our community.

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Cities Reducing Poverty: Bringing All Voices to the Table

Posted by Megan Wanless on March 8, 2017

Poverty is a complex issue. It’s an issue that cannot be approached in isolation or solved by a select few – it effects everyone, is experienced by people in different ways, and involves a significant number of interrelated elements and stakeholders. We know this. We know that when working on complex problems, such as poverty, finding comprehensive solutions requires communities to come together to leverage and better understand their assets – knowledge, experience, skills and resources – to truly see and act on the issue from all angles.

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Change is Here: Our Online Learning Has Evolved

Posted by Megan Wanless on July 8, 2016

When Tamarack was founded back in 2002, the use of technology in the non-profit sector was very different. Online communication was far less interactive and responsive, and navigating the world wide web was done almost exclusively at our desks, not on-the-go from our smartphones. Fast forward 14 years, and now Tamarack is an Institute in its adolescence – a little more mature, a little less inexperienced, still fascinated with the possibilities that technology brings to the work we do.  What have we been doing all of this time?

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Community Engagement: Why It Matters

Posted by Megan Wanless on April 13, 2016
There is a temptation, particularly in data-driven and evidence-based practices, to act in a top down manner in the design and implementation of community engagement programs.

But, there is power in those with lived experience and in reframing approaches and opportunities that engage community members directly in social change.

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