Meg Hansen, former executive director of the health policy think tank Vermonters for Health Care Freedom, has been named president of the Ethan Allen Institute, a policy research and educational nonprofit organization, effective March 1. She succeeds Rob Roper, who led the institute for nine years.
Hansen brings a wealth of experience in developing policy and media initiatives that give voice to the overlooked and unmet needs of middle-class and working-class Vermonters. She has an established record of effective community engagement and has her finger on the pulse of grassroots issues.
Hansen holds a graduate degree in the humanities from Dartmouth College and trained in medicine. Though she does not practice as a doctor, she is a member of the Vermont Medical Reserve Corps and assists, as needed, at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington. In 2020, she ran for the office of lieutenant governor.
“Meg presented a fresh and strong vision for the institute’s future,” Roper said. “Her medical background and health policy knowledge will be invaluable in addressing Vermont's unstable health care programs.”
Founded in 1993, the Ethan Allen Institute is committed to promoting policies based on the principles of free enterprise, a constitutional and limited government, and individual liberty. An affiliate member of the State Policy Network, EAI collaborates and shares resources with 50-plus similar but independent state-level public policy organizations across the nation.