Lawrence MacDonald

Vice President, Communications

Bio

As Vice President for Communications at WRI, Lawrence leads the design and implementation of strategic communications plans and activities that help to make WRI’s big ideas happen. A development policy communications expert and former foreign correspondent, he works to increase the influence and impact of the Institute’s research and analysis by leading an integrated communications program that includes online engagement, media relations, events, and government and NGO outreach. He is responsible for strengthening communications capacity across the Institute, including in Washington and in the growing international offices.

Before joining WRI in October 2014, Lawrence worked for 10 years at the Center for Global Development (CGD), a Washington, DC, based think-and-do tank, where he was part of a small leadership team that earned the Center an international reputation for turning ideas into action to promote shared global prosperity. In addition to his role as CGD Vice President for Communications and Policy Outreach, he hosted a weekly podcast, The Global Prosperity Wonkcast, and published essays on think tank operations and policy change. His recent CGD papers include Citizen Voice in a Globalized World and Deliberative Polling as a Catalyst for Action on Climate Change.

Before joining CGD Lawrence worked as a senior communications officer at the World Bank where he provided strategic communications advice to chief economists, coordinated the preparation of research publications, created the World Bank Research web site, and was founding editor of the Bank's Policy Research Report series. Before that he worked for 15 years in East and Southeast Asia as a reporter and editor for The Asian Wall Street Journal, Agence France Presse and Asiaweek Magazine, during which time he lived in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul, and Manila.

Lawrence is a former University of Michigan Journalism Fellow who earned a BA in East Asian Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He studied Chinese at Taiwan Normal University Mandarin Training Center and worked for two years leading some of the first commercial US tours of China in the early 1980s. When not working Lawrence enjoys bicycling, cooking, gardening and battling the invasive vines that threaten to kill the mature trees along the creek near his home in Arlington, VA. He is married and the father of two (nearly) grown children.

Blogs

China Reaffirms Paris Commitments Ahead of Global Climate Action Summit
by Lawrence MacDonald - July 26, 2018
China will adhere to its commitments under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is on track to exceed key targets early, despite the U.S. administration’s intention to withdraw from the historic climate pact, a senior Chinese climate expert said after a meeting between U.S. and Chinese policy experts in San Francisco.
Can “One Map” Solve Indonesia’s Land Tenure Woes?
by Lawrence MacDonald - June 21, 2017
The OneMap process offers hope for reconciling conflicting land rights claims in Indonesia.
Conflicting Maps Leave Some Indonesian Farmers Landless
by Lawrence MacDonald - June 19, 2017
The struggle for land rights has left many Indonesians on the outside looking in.
Germany Sets High Bar for G20 Summit in July, Trump’s First Meeting with Global Leaders
by Lawrence MacDonald - December 09, 2016
The G20 Hamburg Summit in July will be the first time that President Trump meets fellow G20 leaders in a group setting. The newly released summit agenda is a reminder that the new president’s campaign promises and early appointments could put him at odds with prior G20 commitments.
Helping Chinese Cities Lead the Fight Against Climate Change
by Lawrence MacDonald - October 04, 2016
In the fight to avert runaway climate change, no country is more important than China, and nowhere in China is more important than its booming cities. A recent visit to China offered a first-hand look at how WRI China is working with partners in Beijing, Chengdu, Qingdao and other cities to advance solutions that cut emissions while improving people's lives.
This Independence Day, Think About a Menu Change
by Lawrence MacDonald - June 29, 2016
New WRI research shows that Americans can cut their diets' environmental footprints in half just by eating less meat and dairy. Janet Ranganathan and Richard Waite explain this and other findings in a new podcast.
Carbon Taxes on the Table in US Presidential Campaign
by Lawrence MacDonald - April 20, 2016
While a carbon tax has attracted little attention in the U.S. media before the primary debate last week, WRI research shows it's a policy that can reduce emissions in cost-effective, pro-growth and equitable ways. In fact, some 40 countries and more than 20 cities, states and regions have or are planning on putting carbon prices in place.
Andrew Steer Makes the Case for Paris Talks in Congressional Testimony
by Lawrence MacDonald - December 02, 2015
“Smart policies to address climate change will promote competitiveness and growth," Steer said, "something that private investors crave."
WRI India: Tackling the World’s Toughest Challenges
by Lawrence MacDonald - October 06, 2015
The great twin challenges of the 21st century — development and climate change — are nowhere sharper than in India, and within India they are perhaps nowhere more vivid than Mumbai. So it’s appropriate that WRI India has its largest office in the rapidly transforming former industrial core of India’s largest, richest city.
WRI India's Jamshyd Godrej – Building a Sustainable Legacy
by Lawrence MacDonald - October 05, 2015
Indian industrialist and philanthropist Jamshyd Godrej discusses sustainable business opportunities in an interview with WRI's vice president for Communications.

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Lawrence MacDonald

China Reaffirms Paris Commitments Ahead of Global Climate Action Summit

Can “One Map” Solve Indonesia’s Land Tenure Woes?

Conflicting Maps Leave Some Indonesian Farmers Landless

Germany Sets High Bar for G20 Summit in July, Trump’s First Meeting with Global Leaders

Helping Chinese Cities Lead the Fight Against Climate Change

This Independence Day, Think About a Menu Change

Carbon Taxes on the Table in US Presidential Campaign

Andrew Steer Makes the Case for Paris Talks in Congressional Testimony

WRI India: Tackling the World’s Toughest Challenges

WRI India's Jamshyd Godrej – Building a Sustainable Legacy

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