Megan Tucker is a community and policy researcher for the Empowering Small Minnesota Communities (ESMC) program, a collaborative effort of the Institute for Urban and Regional Infrastructure Finance (IURIF) and the Humphrey School, the Center for Transportation Studies, the Minnesota Design Center, and Extension’s Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP). She leads ESMC's short-term projects and provides metro-area support to many project teams across ESMC's pathways, partnering with small communities throughout Minnesota on local planning efforts. Before joining ESMC, Megan worked in both the public and private sectors, with experience in multimodal transportation planning, geographic information systems (GIS), and community engagement in Minnesota and Washington State. She holds a BS in Urban Studies from the University of Minnesota.