Jean MacKenzie

Jean MacKenzie

Chief of Party
Europe & Eurasia, Sri Lanka, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Civil Society, Media

As chief of party for the Media Empowerment for a Democratic Sri Lanka (MEND) program, Jean oversees all aspects of the program, which focuses on empowering the media to assume its proper role as Sri Lanka’s Fourth Estate.

Under Jean’s management, the project expanded rapidly, dramatically increasing the number of beneficiaries and extending into new areas. When the COVID-19 crisis hit Sri Lanka, Jean guided the team to keep the project going and found innovative ways of delivering trainings and other services safely.

Previously, Jean spent close to a decade in Afghanistan, where she designed and implemented media development projects. She is a returning IREXer, having served as resident advisor for the ProMedia project in Belarus (2000–2002) and regional director for IREX programs in Central Asia (2003–2004).

She is fluent in Russian and French, with intermediate German and basic Farsi.