Staff Spotlight: Hannah Meganck
Hannah Meganck knows why we should all be taking shorter showers: she’s lived around the world with her dad, who worked on water sustainability with the UN, and has seen what that looks like in different countries.
While she lived abroad throughout her upbringing, her home base has always been Corvallis, OR, where her folks met. And after finishing all four years of high school in the Netherlands, she came back to put her own roots down in the Pacific Northwest.
With her Associate’s degree, she started off as a veterinary technician — a job she says was taxing and uncertain. Wanting to use her degree in communications from Lewis and Clark College, she sought an internship with Sustainable Northwest, which had been within her dad’s network of sustainability partners.
The internship was smooth sailing, until her supervisor wanted to hike the Pacific Coast Trail. Hannah was to keep the comms boat afloat while they were gone — a challenging task. But it was one she excelled at, and it led her to get the Operations Associate role.
Since then, Hannah’s work has always centered on people, especially staff, which has been a meaningful part of being at Sustainable Northwest.
“The fact that I get to work with so many folks that are so advanced in their knowledge base and providing the services that we are as an organization — I feel so lucky that I get to do that from the support side.”
Hannah, now Director of People, bridges the gap between operations and what she calls “soft HR.” Not only does she copyedit grant proposals and connect with donors, but she supports the needs of new and old staff alike. This was especially true when the pandemic confined everyone to their home offices, and Hannah helped create a COVID policy, organized Zoom parties, and boosted staff morale.
Since becoming Director of People, some of her most rewarding work has been organizing events. While some events — like the ‘24 Klamath Board meeting — require Herculean effort, she’s dedicated to putting in the legwork to ensure they’re smooth and successful.
Outside the office, you’ll find Hannah hiking on the weekends with her husband, Ben, and her dog, Percy. She’s also an avid craftswoman, enjoying sewing, needlepoint, and stained glass — all things she can do while curled up and cozy inside, listening to This American Life or one of Robert Galbraith’s crime audiobooks.
