Megan Shaud (she/they) is a PhD Candidate in the Criminal Justice Department here at Temple. They are originally from South Jersey and received their B.A. in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Temple University, graduating with a distinction in Criminal Justice in 2020.
Megan is especially passionate about community engagement and community-based research. They worked as a Strengthening Families Coordinator with Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) for a year and a half, coordinating a variety of events (including advocacy-based events such as a Gun Violence Prevention and Reduction Panel & Resource Fair, and family-fun events like an annual Haunted House), support groups, and community-based resourcing initiatives (e.g., food bank, diaper bank). Currently, they are transitioning over to Philadelphia's Department of Human Services (DHS) to serve as the Project Manager of Strengthening Families and Family Schools to continue their work and support these programs at a higher level and on a wider scale.
During their time at Temple, they have developed a research agenda focused on youth and emerging adult well-being, victimization, and intrapersonal and structural resilience (with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ young people). In the 2024-2025 academic year, they were a Public Policy Lab Fellow (on a Research Team with Dr. Jamie Fader) working on their Dissertation research surrounding LGBTQ+ young peoples' experiences with interpersonal and legislative discrimination and their holistic well-being and sites of resilience.
They have taught undergraduate classes within Temple's Criminal Justice Department (such as Criminal Justice Statistics) and Pre-College classes for high schoolers seeking the college experience through Temple's Summer & Pre-College Programs (including a Criminal Justice Reform course).
Their research and teaching interests generally include transformative justice; community-based research methods; queer criminology; youth justice; crossover/multi-system youth; mental health; and victimization, trauma, and resilience.
In their free time, Megan enjoys reading, writing, playing games (especially cozy games like Stawdew Valley, and board/card/party games with friends and family), going to concerts, and spending time at home with her partner and their two cats.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jamie Fader