Inclusive Economies Specialist; Lecturer D-Lab: Gender, D-Lab: Inclusive Economies
Pronouns: she/her
Libby McDonald is a lecturer at MIT D-Lab (D-Lab: Gender and Development, D-Lab: Inclusive Economies) and leads D-Lab’s Inclusive Economies program and Innovation Practice group.
Using a co-design approach, D-Lab Inclusive Economies brings together informal sector workers, multinationals, and government representatives to address livelihood and environmental challenges experienced by people working at the margins of society. Recent projects have included working with Danone to incorporate wastepickers into formal waste systems in Accra, Ghana (2018-2019) and with Mineros S.A. and Apple to introduce zero-mercury mining and diversify local economies in communities in Antioquia, Colombia (2019-2021).
Prior to her work at D-Lab, Libby was MIT CoLab’s Program Director of Global Sustainability Partnerships where she worked with the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Development Program to design and implement integrated waste management solutions in Nicaragua, Panama, and Mexico. A writer and a documentary filmmaker, Libby’s film and written work explore issues of race, equality, and the environment.
