Mackinnon is Watsi’s Executive Director. She has a passion for helping people and organizations come together to tackle complex challenges and create measurable, sustainable impact.
As a global health and humanitarian professional, her experience has spanned the UN, international and local NGOs, and academic sectors. For nearly fifteen years she helped to oversee international surgical programs with a focus on expanding access to safety and high-quality care for patients, capacity development of medical professionals, and advocacy to bring local leadership to the forefront of global conversations and action. At the UN, she worked to ensure more timely humanitarian assistance reached those most in need as well as helped to coordinate the Secretary-General’s response to the Global Food Crisis.
Mackinnon has lived and worked across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Her research efforts have included topics of organizational leadership and effectiveness, localization and decentralization of humanitarian aid and development efforts, economic impact of health interventions, emergency food security, and humanitarian impact of climate change.
Mackinnon lives in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin (an avid cheese 🧀 and sports fan) and also spends her time raising two boys and a pup named Frida. She has firsthand experience with how access to safe surgery can determine one’s life outcomes. At the age of 30, during a routine annual visit, her doctor found early signs of cancer. Because she had access to a leading team of oncologists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and health insurance to cover the cost of treatment, she was able to urgently access the surgery she needed. Mackinnon has dedicated her life to making sure others around the world can access this same life-saving care, regardless of where they live.
The Watsi Team
Everyone deserves healthcare.