SHE GREW UP IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, primarily in Indonesia, to American parents who were helping the world through their humanitarian work, her father as an environmental economist, her mother as a specialist in human trafficking.

“All my life, I knew I wanted to make a difference,” says Marika McCauley Sine MPP 2005. “Even as a little girl growing up overseas, I knew I was very fortunate compared with so many others.”

So how did she end up working for one of the world’s largest, for-profit corporate giants, Coca-Cola?

“Before the Kennedy School, I worked on sustainable development for Oxfam America, the Asia Foundation, and the Congressional Hunger Center. I really enjoyed my work with nonprofits and deeply respected their work in addressing global problems, but I began to wonder as I looked forward: Is this where I can really do the most good, or is there another sector where I can make a larger impact?” she says. “I started thinking about the issue of corporate responsibility and the incredibly important and underappreciated role business plays in economic development.”

She brought this new interest to the Kennedy School, where she cofounded the Corporate Responsibility Council, the student arm of the Center for Business and Government’s Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative.

“There was a lot going on at the school for students on social enterprise and how nonprofits can use business models, but not about the massive private sector and its capacity for helping improve people’s lives through increased economic opportunity,” she says.

After a summer internship with Coca-Cola, she accepted a full-time job with the company’s new corporate accountability group in Atlanta, focusing on human rights, labor rights, and supply chain issues.

“The company was interested in people who had worked in low-income communities overseas and on policy issues in this arena. I will be drawing upon my own experiences as I learn about the business and work as part of a team to build relationships across sectors and foster the company’s sustainable growth,” she says. “I’m excited about helping to address how complex globalization issues affect Coca-Cola’s reputation and bottom line and, at the same time, how Coca-Cola can make a difference.

Although some classmates questioned her jump into the corporate world, McCauley never doubted her motives.

“I will be working on many of the same social and economic development issues that we study at the Kennedy School, but from a very different perspective,” she says. “The reality is that most of the investment being made in the developing world is through the private sector. To make the most of that opportunity, companies are increasingly bringing people on board who have public policy backgrounds. In turn, NGOs and governments are trying to understand companies better. Right now there is such a gap among what the various groups are saying that it’s hard to get them at the same table, but it’s so important that we cooperate and identify our common ground.” She can be contacted at marika_mccauley@ksg05.harvard.edu.

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