Meghan E. Kallman is a Democrat representing District 15 in the Rhode Island State Senate, elected in November 2020. Prior to the Senate, she served two terms on the Pawtucket City Council for Ward 5. She holds a PhD and is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School for Global Inclusion and Social Development at UMass Boston. Kallman is a co-founder and co-director of Conceivable Future, a woman-led network addressing climate change impacts, and has been involved in activism including the Prison Op-Ed Project, the Rhode Island State Housing Appeals Board, and the repeal of the "tampon tax" in 2019.

Education and Political Experience

Kallman earned a PhD and serves as Faculty Representative on the Executive Committee of the Faculty-Staff Union at UMass Boston. Her political experience includes two terms as Pawtucket City Councilor before her 2020 election to the Rhode Island Senate for District 15. She serves on the Senate Committees on Housing & Municipal Government, Commerce, and Environment & Agriculture, and is an Energy & Environment Innovation Fellow with the Future Caucus.

Notable Achievements and Positions

Kallman has sponsored key legislation on housing, including the Fair Housing Practices Act barring discrimination against renters based on income source or gender identity, and a permanent state revenue stream for affordable housing. In 2023, she advanced laws allowing pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptives, increasing penalties for wage theft, funding free major bus routes, converting mills to housing, and supporting mixed-use development near transit. She cosponsored the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act and solar expansion bills protecting forests. Recognized as a 2023 Environmental Champion by Clean Water Action.