MacKenzie Baldinger

Mackenzie Baldinger is a seasoned communications and political analyst currently contributing to the USAID Civil Society Engagement Program in Georgia, a position held since March 2022. This role follows prior experience as a Public Outreach Coordinator for the same program. Additionally, Mackenzie serves as Editor in Chief and Managing Editor at the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia since July 2021 and contributes as a Contributing Editor for New Eastern Europe while also having a background as an Editorial Intern for the publication. Previous roles include Research Assistant at Instytut Kościuszki and Graduate Research Assistant for the Comparative Populism Project, where in-depth research on populism and nationalism was conducted. Mackenzie began the academic journey with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Global Studies from the University of South Carolina, followed by two Master of Arts degrees in International Relations and European Politics at Central European University and Leiden University, respectively.