Megan DeWald, Director

Megan (she/her) has directed the Institute for Youth Ministry since 2022, and she has brought her passion for community development and social justice to bear on how the IYM forms leaders to engage young people. Her primary responsibilities include stewardship of the IYM’s strategy, planning, finances, staff, research, assessment, and community, and she does this work in collaboration with committed stakeholders at Princeton Theological Seminary and beyond. Prior to this role, Megan served as the IYM’s Associate Director, where she designed and led multiple hybrid and online iterations of the IYM’s flagship Certificate in Youth and Theology program, developed the IYM’s online resources and podcast, co-hosted on-campus and online events, and piloted new initiatives to support youth workers.

With more than two decades of experience championing and working with youth and young adults, Megan has dedicated her professional life to creating safe and trustworthy communities of care where young people from all demographic, denominational, and social locations can belong, grow, and flourish. As a woman with lived experience as a second-generation American, a first-generation college student, and an LGBTQ+ person, she navigates her leadership with a vigilant analysis of privilege, oppression, systems, and structures, and she helps other leaders heal, embrace, and lead out of the complexities of their own identities and experiences.

Megan writes and speaks for national and international audiences and served as a collaborating author with Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster on the revised version of The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry published in 2023. Megan holds a BA in Communication from the University of St. Thomas, an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Certificate in Spiritual Entrepreneurship from Columbia Business School and GLEAN Network.