An Interview with Makena Dingwell
Senior program manager, New York City, US
Edelman Global Advisory recently caught up with Makena Dingwell on her professional experience, her helpful career advice, and proudest moments from her career. See our interview below and keep up with Makena on LinkedIn.
EGA: What excites you most about your role at EGA?
MD: The range of people and clients I get to work with. Having the opportunity to learn from communications experts who have worked across such varied industries and regions is a dream come true. I never thought I’d get the chance to travel to places like Panama and Thailand for work and develop friendships with colleagues in Buenos Aires and Hong Kong, but here we are.
EGA: What would you say is your personal area of expertise?
MD: Over the years, I’ve built up experience supporting clients through challenges in trade and shipping. At the same time, I’ve also worked frequently on humanitarian and social impact projects. At the end of the day, I’d say my expertise is helping elevate organizations and their positions on issues on the global stage.
EGA: If you could give yourself one piece of advice at the start of your career, what would it be?
MD: Let go of being perfect or thinking that perfection is the goal. I think it was easier to be perfect earlier on when tasks are relatively straightforward, but over time, my role evolved and my tasks grew more challenging and the situations more complicated. At some point, you have to let go and take more chances to move forward and on to the next step.
EGA: What past work project or accomplishment are you the proudest of and why?
MD: I’d say supporting the Panama Canal Authority has been a huge privilege. Working closely with such a renowned organization has been an enriching experience. The Canal is not only an engineering marvel and global trade hub, but also a progressive force when it comes to encouraging sustainable shipping. It has been a genuine honor to contribute to sharing their story and highlighting their commitment to environmental sustainability and innovation in the maritime industry.
EGA: What would you do if you weren’t doing this?
MD: When I was young, I was keen to join the foreign service or academia to research cross-cultural communication. Working at EGA, I don’t feel like I’ve strayed too far from either path.
EGA: If you could invite 3 people (living or dead) to a dinner party, who would you choose and why?
MD: I would love to have my mother. She studied international affairs and spent some time working for UNICEF in Ethiopia, which was quite bold coming from Japan. She got sick when I was young and passed away years ago, but I’m sure my passion for international affairs comes, in part, from her. I’d also include my great grandfather, who was an inventor and culinary anthropologist who traveled the world studying cooking and worked for Thomas Edison. Lastly, I’d include chef José Andrés. I love that he’s found a wonderful way to turn a passion into a global humanitarian mission with the World Central Kitchen. It’s either him or Rihanna, and frankly I think he’d have more to discuss with the other guests. It should be a good dinner party after all.
EGA: How do you like to spend your time outside of work? Do you have any special hobbies or interests?
MD: I grew up partially in London so I am a big football/soccer fan and would love to go to the World Cup one day. Thankfully, the next one won’t require a passport to travel to.
About Makena Dingwell
Makena Dingwell is a senior program manager on Edelman Global Advisory’s international public affairs team based in New York City. She joined Edelman in 2016 and has since helped build and execute a series of strategic communications programs aimed at elevating organizations and issues on the global stage. Today, Makena most frequently serves in a project management capacity, leading day-to-day activities across multiple international markets. In this role, she often drives programs spanning media relations, executive positioning, stakeholder engagement, event management, and issues management.
While Ms. Makena has supported a wide range of clients, she is particularly experienced with those focused on global trade and economic development, maritime transportation, sustainability, social impact, and humanitarian issues. Recent roles include managing day-to-day international communications programs for the Panama Canal Authority and the G20 Presidency. Other past clients include the B20, Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, Obama Foundation, Generation Equality Forum Mexico, Walk Free Foundation, Ministry of Economic Development and Growth of Ontario, Brand USA, and The Elevate Prize Foundation, among others.
Before focusing on international clients, Ms. Makena worked on the firm’s broader public affairs team, aiding clients such as Wells Fargo, The Nature Conservancy, and General Electric.
Ms. Makena earned her bachelor’s degree in international affairs with a concentration in international economics from George Washington University. While originally from San Francisco, CA, Makena spent several years living in London, UK.
