Lawrence MacDonald

Director, Communications and Policy
lmacdonald@cgdev.org

Expertise

Design and implementation of strategic communication programs for development policy research; communications measurement; web and e-mail strategies; publication management

Initiative

Education

University of Michigan Journalism Fellow (1989-90); Intensive study of Mandarin Chinese at Taiwan Normal University (1976-78); B.A. with High Honors in East Asian Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara (1976)

Background

Lawrence works to increase the policy impact of CGD's research and analysis by leading an integrated communications program that includes publications, media relations, government and NGO outreach, events, and online engagement. Before joining the Center in October 2004 he was a senior communications officer at the World Bank where he provided strategic communications advice to chief economists, coordinated the preparation of research publications and created the World Bank Research web site. He was founding editor of the Bank's Policy Research Report series and launched two innovative yet enduring web tools: the Bank's Online Media Briefing Center and the International AIDS Economic Network (IAEN), a virtual community. Prior to that he worked in East and Southeast Asia for 15 years as a reporter and editor for The Asian Wall Street Journal, Agence France Presse, and Asiaweek Magazine.