Zoë Hitzig will begin with an overview of mechanism design, the field of microeconomic theory focused on the design of institutions and rules that produce good social outcomes. She will discuss a prominent case in which mechanism design was used to advocate for a major policy change in the name of equity – a change in the algorithms used to assign K-12 students to public school in Boston. Hitzig will talk about how, inevitably, a gap emerges between what the theory suggests, and what stakeholders think the theory suggests. She will conclude by presenting a new axiom for mechanism design, contextual privacy, focusing on how it aims to close a gap between theory and practice.