WHO I AM
Dr. Madeleine McKinnon
A passionate and highly accomplished professional, I have 20 years’ experience working on planning, monitoring and evaluation of nature conservation, international development, and community programs with philanthropies, non-profits, government agencies, and research institutions.
I founded Bright Impact in 2018, an independent consultancy, leading short-term and multi-year projects around strategy, evaluation and learning for positive good in the world. Previously, I led measurement, evaluation and learning of philanthropic investments and technology products by the late Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, in areas of wildlife conservation, climate change, communities, education, pandemics, arts and culture. I spent over 5 years with Conservation International leading monitoring and reporting of ecosystem and human well-being outcomes across CI’s efforts in over 25 countries.
I’ve co-authored over 40 scientific articles including Nature and Science and been cited over 2000 times. I was the principal investigator for a Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) working group on Evidence-based Conservation and previously served on the Board of the Conservation Measures Partnership.
Originally from London, I graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a B.Sc. in Ecology and have a MS in Applied Ecology and Conservation from the University of East Anglia. I earned a Ph.D. focused on evaluation of conservation policy and programs from the University of Queensland, Australia, where I am currently an adjunct senior fellow.
I live in San Francisco, California and sometimes host whimsical Supper Clubs with fellow female scientist, Dr Kayla de la Haye (USC).
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