Transparency in Action: Using FOIA to Support Clients and Communities

February 17th, 2026 – 10AM

Description: The Freedom of Information Act is an unsung hero of advocacy, offering a powerful tool to unlock the information needed to shape policy, set baselines, represent clients, and evaluate the performance of oversight agencies. This session will cover the basics—what qualifies as a public record, how to file a FOIA request, and what exemptions do (and do not) mean.

FREE WEBINAR

Presenter

Megan Rhyne, Virginia Coalition for Open Government

Megan Rhyne has worked for the Virginia Coalition for Open Government since 1998 and became its executive director in 2008. She also serves as the administrator for the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Knight Litigation Fund. Before coming to VCOG, she served as an opinions editor for the Texas Lawyer newspaper in Dallas, as a freelance writer for Androvett Legal Media in Dallas and the National Law Journal in New York, and as an adjunct professor of media law at Hampton University’s journalism school. She first became interested in open government as an FOI intern at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.  Her law degree is from the University of Colorado-Boulder, and she was a radio, television, and motion pictures major at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She lives in Williamsburg.