Masters of Public Health and Innovation Agency Founder Joins "Emory Innovators"


Just because your career doesn't go the direction you think it will doesn't mean you have had a bad career. Just ask Meaghan Kennedy (MPH from RSPH) Founder of Orange Sparkle Ball. She dropped by The Hatchery last week to talk about her career, innovation, human-centered design, and much more!

Meaghan's studies at Rollins focused on epidemiology and her first job out of school was an exciting step into that field at the CDC. However, Meaghan discovered she wanted to develop solutions for pressing problems at a faster pace than even the incredibly innovative CDC. This led her to the world of human-centered design, which for Meaghan, is a way to make rapid change with a high degree of intentionality and rigor.

Her experience in human-centered design and her incredibly diverse portfolio of work at Orange Sparkle Ball has given Meaghan a unique vantage point on what innovation really is. Namely, intentionally making change. This definition captures the importance of method ("intentionally") without becoming paralyzed by a method. Meaghan focuses on action and measurement to ensure that the actions taken are in the direction of the change an innovator wants to see. Additionally, Meaghan encourages innovators to develop and then quickly pivot from activity metrics, which are useful for measuring early-stage traction, to value metrics, which measure whether a given solution is actually achieving its purpose.  

Meaghan's presentation was engaging and useful throughout! You can view the conversation here or listen here. Want to interact with The Hatchery's guests live? Sign-up for their newsletter to stay up-to-date on upcoming events. 

To learn more about The Hatchery visit Hatchery.emory.edu or email The Hatchery staff at thehatchery@emory.edu. The Hatchery is a unit of Emory University Academic Innovation.