Welcome to NENA, Megan!

On September 15, 2025, Nokomis East Neighborhood Association was thrilled to welcome new staff member, Megan Stone. Megan will work as the organization’s Communication and Community Engagement Coordinator. Working in collaboration with Sarah, NENA’s Executive Director, Megan will manage committees and programs, support communications and volunteers, and engage in community outreach.

Megan has worked in the nonprofit sector for 20+ years, starting in community based work at a crisis shelter in Minneapolis as a counselor for teens and their families after graduating from University of Minnesota-Duluth. Her passion for working with at-risk youth led her to work for a juvenile diversion program contracted with Hennepin County. After moving to Stillwater from South Minneapolis’s Ericsson Neighborhood, Megan started a family and began working as an independent contractor for small and emerging nonprofits where she worked in a variety of capacities, including program management, project coordination, volunteer and data management, and finance and administrative oversight.

In 2015, Megan joined a basic needs organization as their Food Shelf and Clothing Manager. After being promoted to Program Director a few years later, she oversaw the organization’s food shelf, clothing, client support services and volunteer programs. She was responsible for implementation, strategy, communications, and day-to-day program operations. While in this role, she led the organization through massive growth, increasing food shelf distribution numbers by 89% due to unprecedented demand. She oversaw an overhaul of the clothing program, including the development of a social enterprise model, where clients continued to receive free clothing while the community was invited to shop for low-cost clothing onsite at a thrift shop storefront. When the organization was approached by Washington County to support individuals and families who were precariously housed, through the Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program (FHPAP), Megan led the team through the adoption of this program-hiring staff, supporting clients, and collaborating with other providers. Additionally, Megan oversaw the volunteer program, actively engaging 100’s of volunteers weekly, developing training, and creating processes to help recruit, retain, and recognize volunteers. Megan’s approach to program coordination, and communication includes compassion, humor, positivity, and a distinct eye for details, complex problem solving, and organization. Megan sees herself as a “Master Builder”, a concept from one of her favorite movies, the Lego Movie. “I thrive in environments where I can take information and priorities from multiple sources and put them together to make sense.”, she says. 

After taking some time off for a relocation in 2024-2025, Megan is excited to get back into community based work. “I was drawn to Nokomis East Neighborhood Association because of the great work being done by the organization. And after learning more about what the aspirations are for the next chapter of NENA during my interviews, I was even more excited at the possibility of working with them.”, she says. During her year off of work, Megan realized she wanted the next chapter of her career to focus more on relationship building, and tapping into her communication and organizational skills.

“Emmet, the main character and the underdog in the Lego Movie, struggles to make sense of the world around him, though it seems everyone he meets has it together. In one pivotal scene, he suddenly visualizes random

Lego parts to make a robot, and he puts them together to make the world better. That’s what I’m trying to do,” Megan continues, “make the world better, now including NENA, with improved communications, processes, and programs. Putting the necessary pieces together helps the community understand more about what we’re doing, creates an engaging organization and encourages people to get involved.” As for relationship building, Megan is eager to learn more about the organizations, businesses, families and individuals that make up the Nokomis East Neighborhood and how NENA can best serve them. “I’m excited to work at an organization dedicated to serving such a wide variety of constituents.”

Megan lives in New Brighton with her husband and blended family of four kids. She is an avid crocheter, enjoys the outdoors and hiking, and above all else loves food and cooking. Her favorite activities are hosting meals for friends and family, and exploring new and challenging recipes. Megan can be reached Megan.Stone@nokomiseast.org.