Job title: Director of Programmes, Training, and Partnerships
Company:
Focus: refugee integration, cross-sector collaboration, humanitarian leadership
Nationality: Irish-American
Year of graduation: 2025
Ciara Macken is a humanitarian leader based in Greece. She currently works in a grassroot organisation supporting refugee communities through education, community engagement and global-capacity building. Her commitment to ethical eladership and cross-sector collaboration led her to join the Executive MSc Social Business and Entrepreneurship (EMSBE) at ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ, deepening her ability to scale impact and drive systemic change.
From classroom to the frontlines of social change
For nearly a decade, Ciara has worked at the intersection of education, humanitarian response and community engagement. She started her journey first as a teacher, which then led into leadership at Second Tree, a humanitarian organisation that works in refugee camps in Northern Greece, trains institutions and civil society worldwide on community engagement and trust building, and produces thought leadership on anti-victimising approaches in the refugee response sphere.
At Second Tree, Cara has been facilitating capacity-building and consultancy work for different actors in the refugee response ecosystem, from municipalities, to universities and academics, to institutions and organisations worldwide.
“Working with these different actors, two insights became apparent: firstly, well-intended organisations in the third sector often miss opportunities to scale their impact; secondly, collaboration among public, private, and third sectors can multiply social good.”
These insights have ignited a personal and professional search for answers.
½ûÂþÌìÌÃing for a different kind of business education
Ciara’s reflections led her to a crucial question: How can cross-sector between public, private, and humanitarian actors be designed to maximise impact while safeguarding social good – and whose interests should take precedence when business objectives and community needs intersect?
This question led Ciara to discover the Executive MSc in Social Business and Entrepreneurship (EMSBE) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (½ûÂþÌìÌÃ). With its unique blend of business education, ethical inquiry, and social impact strategy, the EMSBE immediately stood out.
This led me to look at MBA programmes, but I wanted a programme focused on social impact with an ethical outlook towards society. That’s when I came across the EMSBE at ½ûÂþÌìÌà – it was the programme I’d been looking for: blending business education with a focus on social impact.
Receiving the Marshall Institute scholarship to pursue the programme was a pivotal point for Ciara. She remembers:
“I was in Northern Greece with three close friends when I found out I received the scholarship. We all burst into joyful screams, then cried.”
A message for future changemakers
“Initially, I had estimated my chances of receiving the scholarship at around 10%, so it genuinely felt like an unbelievable and life-changing moment.”
Ciara has a simple and clear message for those considering the EMSBE: ‘just apply’.
“I hesitated to apply, doubting my chances, yet it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.“
If you're passionate about meaningful change and want to critically engage with how to drive social impact, trust your abilities and go for it—the scholarship could genuinely transform your life.
Translating insights into action
Ciara said: “The EMSBE programme has exceeded my expectations.” From the outset, she found the content “thoughtfully curated, provoking engaging discussions, deep reflections, and substantial learning.”
On a professional level, the programme has elevated Ciara’s work as the Director of Programmes, Training, and Partnerships at Second Tree. Second Tree is the lead partner of the In Loco Project, which brings together 17 partners, 7 associated partners, 6 municipalities, and 4 academic institutions across 11 EU member states to pilot a participatory model for integration in Europe, reshaping practices and policies for newcomers – people who are refugees, asylum seekers, or from a migrant background.
As the project coordinator of the consortium, the EMSBE has helped me develop insights and skills to support all elements of the project: from the co-creation of policy in 11 EU territories, to the transnational research which interviews 200 of Second Tree’s former students, to the establishment of NEW – a refugee-led think tank in Brussels which will drive advocacy efforts for EU-level policy change.
Beyond the professional transformation, the programme has offered Ciara something deeply personal: a community of purpose.
“I’m grateful for the friendships and connections made through our cohort. My peers on the course are driving meaningful change across the world; learning from them has been both rewarding and motivational.”
Leading the future of social impact and refugee integration
Ciara has continued in her role at Second Tree while completing the EMSBE, remaining committed to reshaping how we respond to displacement and scaling inclusive impact.
“The EMSBE has undoubtedly expanded my ability to drive ethical decision-making and increase social impact within and beyond the humanitarian sector.”