The Asia Foundation

Expertise: Indonesia, civil society strengthening, health, and local governance reform

Laurel MacLaren is a seasoned development professional with 10 years of experience managing programs funded by USAID, AusAID, the Gates Foundation and corporate partners in Indonesia. In the position of Deputy Country Representative, Ms. MacLaren provides management support to programs in the areas of local governance, civil society strengthening, democracy and economic reform.

Prior to joining The Asia Foundation in 2008, Ms. MacLaren served as the Deputy Chief of Party for a USAID-funded maternal and child health program managed by John Snow International. From 2001 – 2005, Ms. MacLaren served as the Deputy Director of Save the Children’s Indonesia office, playing a key role in their response to the 2004 Aceh tsunami. Ms. MacLaren started her career working for a local NGO in Indonesia, spending four years doing field work in the area of HIV/AIDS. She has extensive experience in fundraising, strategic planning and grants management, with technical expertise in civil society strengthening, local governance reform, public health and child protection. Ms. MacLaren has co-authored a number of technical resources in the Indonesian language.

Education: Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a BA in Anthropology and Women's Studies at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.