Noelle McDonald coordinates grantmaking activities for the Program Department at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation with a focus on the Opportunity Youth initiative, working closely with the senior program officer to monitor grants and contribute to the development, review and presentation of grant proposals. Prior to this role, she worked in the same capacity for the Substance Use Prevention initiative as well as having provided administrative and programmatic support in the international program department. . Formerly, McDonald worked as a professional education program manager at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and as alumni relations representative at Pepperdine University School of Law. Academic achievements include a master’s degree in English and comparative literature from the University of California, San Diego, and a bachelor’s degree in English and world literature from UCLA. Her three years of experience as an English teacher, both in California and as a volunteer in Haiti, were especially meaningful.