Meghan Chaffee ‘09

As seen in Simpson’s new major in Health Services Leadership, the intersection of health care and public policy is a growing career field. If you talk to Meghan Chaffee ‘09, the Vice President of Advocacy for the Nebraska Medical Association, she will tell you Simpson’s small class sizes and interdisciplinary learning helped set her on a path to be a leader in this field.

“Simpson’s focus on its liberal arts curriculum helped me discover what topics peaked my interest. In my courses, I had the advantage of smaller class sizes, which encouraged discussion — creating a solid, well-rounded education.” Meghan interned with the Iowa Attorney General while at Simpson, took interest in health policy, law, and ethics, and graduated with a double major in Political Science and Philosophy.

She then graduated from the University of Nebraska’s College of Law in 2013, where she was active in the Women’s Law Caucus and the Health Law and Ethics Consortium. After graduation, Meghan took her first job as a Legal Counsel with Nebraska’s non-partisan state legislature.

Now, as Vice President of Advocacy and Counsel for the Nebraska Medical Association, she works on legislative lobbying and regulatory issues, while serving as in-house legal counsel for the organization.

As far as Meghan Chaffee has come in her profession, it is the personal touch at Simpson that she remembers. “The interaction with professors developed my critical thinking. The faculty [in Political Science and Philosophy] were accessible for feedback and discussion after their classes. It built the confidence for me to pursue and obtain a law degree.”