Megan Costilow is a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. She assists jurisdictions with implementing the federal standards of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and helps coordinate efforts to enhance tribal access to national crime information systems, including biographic and biometric information on sex offenders.
Ms. Costilow came to the SMART Office after serving as the Director of Public Safety at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Police and Public Safety Department, where she oversaw the Dispatch Communications Center, CALEA Accreditation, NIBRS & Clery Act reporting, Title IX investigative reports and policy development.
Prior to joining UMMC, Ms. Costilow was the Director of the Mississippi Sex Offender Registry (MSOR) with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, where she planned and hosted three statewide symposiums to educate the criminal justice community on sex offender-related matters. In addition to her responsibilities as MSOR’s director, Ms. Costilow taught at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers’ Training Academy, focusing on sex offender registration and investigation of related crimes. She was also an Authorized Facilitator for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, delivering prevention education in communities.
Before accepting a position with MSOR, Ms. Costilow served the Texas Workforce Commission as a Hearing Officer- and conducted hearings for unemployment claims.
Ms. Costilow holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Mississippi State University and a Juris Doctorate with a certificate in Family and Juvenile Law from Mississippi College School of Law. She is a graduate of the State Executive Development Institute.
While earning her law degree, Ms. Costilow was a fellow in the Benton Public Interest program, acted as a juvenile public defender in Mississippi’s Rankin County Youth Court Clinic and externed with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. In 2024, Ms. Costilow was honored as one of Mississippi State University’s Reveille 25 for her impact in the community, and she remains an active member of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and Zeta Tau Alpha.