Heather Lynn Mac Donald (born 1956) is an American political commentator and journalist described as a secular conservative. She has advocated positions on numerous subjects including victimization, philanthropy, immigration reform, crime prevention, racism, racial profiling, rape, politics, welfare, and matters pertaining to cities and academia. She is a John M. Olin Fellow of the Manhattan Institute. In addition, she is a contributing editor to New York's City Journal, and a lawyer by training. She has written numerous editorials and is the author of several books. She was born in California, graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover in 1974 and graduated from Yale's Berkeley College in 1978, then attended Cambridge, and graduated from Stanford law school in 1985.