Laura Keen

Laura Keen is the Senior Manager of the United States branch of GiveDirectly. Laura has over fifteen years of experience in the field of international development, with a focus on evaluation and adaptive learning, accountability, and citizen engagement.

Laura started their career as a Grantee for the Human Rights and Governance Fellowship at the Open Society Foundations. Laura then went on to be a Project Manager and Researcher at Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Laura spent two years as a Program Officer at Results for Development, developing strategy and managing a complex international research portfolio across six countries for Leveraging Transparency to Reduce Corruption (LTRC).

During their time at LTRC, Laura led and implemented research projects focused on evaluation and adaptive learning to strengthen the existing work of local partners. This included creating protocols, conducting focus groups, analyzing data, and drafting policy briefs. Laura also managed stakeholder relationships with dozens of civil society organizations, government officials, and consultants across Mongolia, Nigeria, Peru, Zimbabwe, Colombia, Venezuela, and the U.S. to translate LTRC’s research findings into improved policymaking.

Laura Keen is an expert in the field of international development, with a wealth of experience in evaluation and adaptive learning, accountability, and citizen engagement.

Laura Keen has a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. Laura also holds a BA in Economics and International Relations from the University of Buenos Aires, and a BA in Political Science, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Their manager is Sarah Moran, Country Director, US.