Megan MacDonald

Based in the United States

MA, University of California, Los Angeles

‍

“I want to be a fundraiser when I grow up!” said no one ever. And yet here we are. 

Forever a seeker of knowledge and lover of people, finding a career developing authentic relationships, fostering growth, infusing gratitude, and emphasizing excellence has been a dream.

Driven toward distinction by way of humble roots, my career began at Caltech. Within the first two years, I watched Curiosity land on Mars at JPL and hosted Stephen Hawking for his birthday dinner. Having embraced fundraising for a premier research institution, I moved to MIT's resource development team. MIT is thrilling. The alumni are wonderful, the faculty are inspiring, and their endowment is thriving, but I missed the intimacy of the impact I felt at Caltech. After a few years, I boomeranged back to sunny Pasadena, back to where the curious thrive.

Shortly thereafter, I was introduced to Abhilash Mishra while he was finishing his PhD in Astrophysics. In our first meeting, Abhilash described his vision for creating a virtual laboratory where young innovators from anywhere in the world had the opportunity to conduct research under the guidance of experienced mentors. His idea was spot on; little did we know a global pandemic would soon accelerate his ambitions.

Seeing this network of innovators grow, build relationships together, become researchers, and partner with each other on start-ups has been most inspiring. There are very few alumni networks that rival in rigor and camaraderie. We are only getting started. 

When I am not excitedly connecting good people to impactful opportunities, I am likely making pasta, enjoying the outdoors, adoring my family, or talking about curly hair. 

At Equitech Futures, our goals are ambitious, our network is global, and our impact is profound.