Norine A. MacDonald KC is the President and Founder of RAINCLOUD, a global business and knowledge hub for the Defense + AI ecosystem.

Early life and education

Ms MacDonald is former Visiting Distinguished Fellow at

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

. In 2020, MacDonald authored 'Killing Me Softly: Competition in Artificial Intelligence and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles' with George Howell. She graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management in Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy in September 2020.

Career

Founding and Leadership Roles

She was formerly president and founder of The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS), an international security and development think tank founded in 2002 with offices in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and field offices in the Afghan cities of

Lashkar Gah Lashkargāh (; ), historically called Bost or Boost (), is a city in southwestern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkargah District, where the Arghandab River merges into the Helmand River. The city has a po ...

and

Kandahar City Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's List of cities in Afghanistan, second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It i ...

. With

ICOS Icos Corporation (trademark ICOS) was an American biotechnology company and the largest biotechnology company in the U.S. state of Washington, before it was sold to Eli Lilly and Company in 2007. It was founded in 1989 by David Blech, Isaac ...

, MacDonald promoted innovation in the security and development sectors. She started what became a global organization aimed at driving change by building strategic coalitions, bringing together influential stakeholders and investors around innovative solutions and pilot projects to test them.

Media and publications

MacDonald has appeared on CNN several times to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. In July 2008, she made a further appearance on

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

to talk about ICOS's report Iraq: 'Angry Hearts and Angry Minds'. She also co-edited two books: ''Global Philanthropy'' and ''Philanthropy in Europe: A Rich Past, A Promising Future''.

Research in Afghanistan

Since 2005, MacDonald has led an extensive programme in Afghanistan focusing on global security development. Through field research,

investigated the relationship between counter-narcotics,

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

, and development policies and their consequences on

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

's reconstruction efforts. The Council's reports and video footage provide insight into the deteriorating development and security situations on the ground, especially in southern Afghanistan, and make policy recommendations to a broad audience of senior policy-makers and experts in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

countries.

Philanthropy and advisory roles

As President of The Gabriel Foundation, MacDonald was a member of the Network of European Foundations for Innovative Cooperation(NEF). This is a platform which brings together twelve of the leading philanthropic organisations in Europe. MacDonald was also a member of the International Advisory Council of the International Crisis Group(ICG).

Honors and awards

In February 2007, she was awarded the First Class Medal of Merit of the

Italian Red Cross The Italian Red Cross (IRC, or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross society. The Italian Red Cross was one of the original founding members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1919. History Early history The present-day I ...

for outstanding contributions to international humanitarian cooperation. In 2018, MacDonald was awarded the U.S. Department of the Army Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service and also in 2018, she received the Distinguished Public Service Medal for exceptional service to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Other activities and recognition

MacDonald has international experience in law, academic research, policy, advocacy and

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. She has testified before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and Standing Committee on National Defence in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and the House of Commons' Defence Committee in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In October 2009, she testified before the US Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control during a hearing on 'U.S. Counternarcotics Strategy in Afghanistan'. MacDonald's work has been featured in a long list of publications including the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' and ''

the Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', while she has also appeared on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

, CTV and

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

International. She reports in her biography that she is a member of the

Frontline Club The Frontline Club is a media club and registered charity created by Vaughan and Pranvera Smith, located near Paddington Station in London. With a strong emphasis on conflict reporting, it aims to champion independent journalism, provide an effe ...

. Before founding

, MacDonald was a partner in the law firm Bull, Housser and Tupper, specialising in commercial litigation, charities and tax law. Moreover, MacDonald held several prominent offices as a Bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia. MacDonald holds a BA and an LLB from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, and completed the Advanced Management Program at

INSEAD INSEAD ( ; French: ''Institut européen d'administration des affaires'') is a non-profit business school with locations in Europe (Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE) and North America (San Francisco, USA ...

in France in 2005. She was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Norine Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Lawyers in British Columbia University of British Columbia alumni Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni Canadian women lawyers