Dr. Megan Ming Francis is the G. Alan and Barbara Delsman Associate Professor of Political Science and an associate professor of Law, Societies, and Justice at University of Washington. She is also a senior democracy fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center. Dr. Francis was a former research fellow at the NAACP-LDF Thurgood Marshall Institute and a recipient of the Freedom Scholar award from Marguerite Casey Foundation in 2020.
Dr. Francis specializes in the study of American politics, with broad interests in Black political activism, criminal punishment, and racial justice philanthropy. She is the author of the award-winning book, Civil Rights and the Making of the Modern American State. In addition, her research and commentary have been featured in numerous academic and public outlets, including a popular TED talk entitled "We need to address the real roots of racial violence."
Dr. Francis is a proud alumnus of Seattle Public Schools, Rice University in Houston, and Princeton University where she received her M.A. and Ph.D. in politics.
