Megan Tuck

Email: mtuck@coic.org
Title: Rural Resource Coordinator
Organization: Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC)
Community: Central Oregon
Population: 260,000 (over entire region)
County Served: Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson Counties & Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation

Meet Megan Tuck:

Megan is a rural Oregonian who grew up in the small farming community of St. Paul, located in the Central Willamette Valley. Her family has a long history with Oregon’s agricultural industry, and throughout high school she worked on a diversified family farm that cultivated nursery trees, grass seed, hazelnuts, and garlic.

Megan graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.S. in Political Science and a B.A. in Planning, Public Policy, and Management with a minor in Spanish. Her career interests include serving rural Oregonians, land use policy and planning, and sustainable development. Megan previously completed internships with 1000 Friends of Oregon and Lane County that both focused on building relationships to achieve policy goals that benefit both rural and urban Oregonians.

Outside of work she is an avid reader and enjoys all things outdoors—hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, swimming, you name it! You can often find Megan exploring the many corners of Oregon going to rodeos and concerts.

Community and Organization:

The Central Oregon region consists of Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties as well as the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation. The region has both the combined urban metro area of Bend and Redmond, as well as expansive rural areas from Sisters to Prineville and Madras to La Pine. Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC) is the designated Council of Governments for the region that provides a wide range of services from alternative high school education, business loans, transportation, and community/economic development.

Projects:

As a Rural Resource Coordinator, Megan will be working primarily with COIC’s Rural Community Building Program to support different community-led groups in bringing their visions to life through meeting facilitation, grant application guidance, and more. Two groups she will be specifically supporting are the Newbery Regional Partnership in South Deschutes County and Juniper Acres in Crook County.

Megan will also be working on completing the Central Oregon Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), administering grant funding for septic replacements or repairs for low to moderate income homeowners through the DEQ Septic Assistance Program, and supporting the region’s Broadband Action Team by monitoring and assisting assisting federal grant research.