Mackenzie holds a B.A. in International Politics and History from Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany. Prior to starting her master's program at Central European University’s School of Public Policy, she worked at the Heinrich Böll Foundation's offices in Washington DC and Brussels. She has also worked at the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust, a small environmental education NGO located out of Swakopmund, Namibia, and gained research experience with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Strategic Environmental Management.