Megan Torgerson

Before I launched Reframing Rural I worked as a nonprofit development professional, point PR person, digital marketer, blogger and film critic. I've worked for a nonprofit that supports marginalized small business owners, a nonprofit that serves documentary filmmakers, and currently I work for myself writing grants for a choreographer and managing all aspects (writing, recording, interviewing, editing, producing, making music, promoting, fundraising) of my independent podcast Reframing Rural, which was awarded the 2020 Remote Scholar in Residence award and fellowship from Guest House Cultural Capital Residency in Richland, Washington. I am a recent graduate of Seattle University's Arts Leadership MFA program where my academic research focused on, you guessed it, rural identity and rural social issues. My thesis "Rewriting the Narrative on Rural America through Oral Storytelling," addressed the adverse effects of single stories of rural America, urban-rural and intra-rural divides, decentering a white-rural narrative to elevate Indigenous stories and history, as well as rural embodied knowledge and rural cultural traditions that should be more widely celebrated. I earned my BA in English with a creative nonfiction emphasis from the University of Montana. I have lived all over the country from Alaska to North Carolina and in Germany and the Czech Republic. Currently I divide my time between Seattle, WA, Missoula, MT and one of the most rural counties in America, Sheridan County, MT. I've helped deliver baby calves, can drive a tractor, conduct ethnographic research, edit podcasts, secure grant funding and love to sing and play Doc Watson songs on the guitar. I am looking to grow my audio storytelling skills while supporting my creative endeavors through freelance work, marketing and fundraising.