Kirsty MacDonald has enjoyed a career encompassing director level positions in leading educational and cultural institutions over thirty years in the UK and Canada. For almost seven years she has been Deputy Principal (Advancement) at the Royal Academy of Music and in summer 2022 was awarded an Hon FRAM for her achievements there. A member of the senior management team, she leads strategic planning and is  responsible for external relations including fundraising, marketing, communications, audience engagement and alumni relations. She devised and launched the largest fundraising campaign for a music college, outside the US, with a target of £60m. 
 
Kirsty has delivered transformational outcomes in every role she has taken on, which includes fundraising leadership roles at the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh and Oxford (Wadham College). Her previous experience across higher education and the arts includes London Business School, English National Opera, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Glyndebourne. A mentor to several fundraising leaders, she is well known throughout the UK Advancement sector, often invited to speak at national conferences in higher education and serves as the Chair of the CASE Europe Trust. Kirsty has an Honours BA from the University of Toronto and in 2009 was awarded an MA Oxon.