Megan Weis

Director of Community Connections at the SC Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare | Research Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine

Dr. Megan Weis is the Director of Community Connections for the SC Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare (CRPH) and Research Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. She is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist with over 20 years of experience in public health education, promotion, research, and policy in governmental, non-profit and academic settings. Her work bridges practice and academia to unite non-traditional partners from various disciplines and organizations to jointly address public health and healthcare challenges at the community and state levels. At CRPH, she works with rural community partners and leads the Center’s efforts to improve community connections to healthcare and health-supportive social services, community-focused health and healthcare workforce preparation, and access to healthcare in rural South Carolina. Her meaningful community engagement informs the Center's strategic direction and outreach efforts.

Prior to joining CRPH, Dr. Weis’s diverse experience ranges from serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer working in Maternal and Child Health in Malawi, Africa; implementing and managing surveillance systems at the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC); and report writing, grant writing, strategic planning, organization and coalition development, management of multi-stakeholder workgroups and evaluation, development and communications as a co-founder of the South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health. In all her roles, she has successfully worked to unite non-traditional partners from various disciplines and organizations to jointly address public health challenges.

Dr. Weis is also an adjunct instructor with the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. She has served in numerous roles South Carolina Public Health Association, most recently as the current president. Previously she has served on the board of Wholespire (formerly Eat Smart Move More South Carolina), including as vice-chair of the Board of Directors. Her honors and awards include being a Furman University Riley Institute Diversity Fellow, the Gerry Sue Arnold Alumni Award from the University of South Carolina, Health Educational Professional of 2007 from the SC Association for the Advancement of Health Education. The South Carolina Public Health Association has recognized Dr. Weis with both the Lucinda Thomas Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Area of Community Health and the James A. Hayne Award in recognition for particular meritorious achievements in public health over an extended period of time.

She is a graduate of Furman University and received her graduate degrees from the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. She lives in Chapin, South Carolina and enjoys family adventures as often as possible with her husband and two sons.