Ninna Marie Ottey McDonald is a Panamanian communication strategist, cultural practitioner, and social activist whose work centers on strategic communication, public narratives, and knowledge dissemination through a human-rights, antiracist, and Afro-diasporic lens. She has served as an expert communication consultant for the National Secretariat for Afro-Panamanian Policies and Development (SENADAP), supporting institutional communication processes with an equity-driven approach.
Her academic background includes studies in Marketing and Communication at IED Barcelona and Fashion Styling at Istituto Marangoni in Milan, complemented by a certification in Afro-Latin American Studies from the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center. This interdisciplinary formation informs her practice at the intersection of culture, identity, and communication.
She is the founder of Menina Congo, a digital platform dedicated to amplifying Afro-Latina women’s voices, and of her personal website ninnaottey.com, where she develops critical content, storytelling strategies, and communication frameworks focused on social impact. She has been actively involved in regional Afro-descendant youth networks and was part of the first cohort of #EscuelAfro (Ashanti Perú), where she co-developed Memoria Digital Afro, a collaborative digital memory and communication platform recognized by UNFPA.
Ottey McDonald has delivered lectures and co-led cultural and political initiatives that explore communication as a tool for memory, resistance, and collective empowerment, including Melanin Summer Fest and the Afro-feminist program Hijas de Alkebulan. Her work bridges academic inquiry, creative practice, and applied communication, contributing to more inclusive and transformative public narratives.More...