Donna holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with Honors and master degrees in Political Science and Criminal Justice. She has taken multiple Master Gardening courses and is an RYT-500 registered yoga teacher. Donna is a committed life-long learner who is currently completing certification as an ADHD Coach at the Advanced level. She holds the ACC (Associate Certified Coach) credential issued by ICF (International Coaching Federation) and the PCAC (Professional Certified ADHD Coach) credential issued by PAAC (Professional Association of ADHD Coaches) and the ACCG (ADDCA Certified Coach Graduate) awarded by ADDCA. A child of the Deep South, Donna has lived in ten different states, covering almost every “region” of the country, and now calls The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota home. She has worked at the highest levels of state government, city government, national nonprofit management and more. As an entrepreneur, she has operated successfully in the financial services and business consulting sectors. She taught piano lessons, taught and continues to teach yoga across ages and abilities, led middle school and high school summer camps, tutored a range of subjects for neurotypical and neurodiverse students of all ages. Donna has sung in community choirs and directed church choirs. She has written professionally and continues to write for her own amusement. She has volunteered and continues to volunteer with civic organizations, animal rescues, and literacy programs. Over the course of her professional career, Donna worked in higher education as an adjunct instructor and ran high-profile political campaigns. She served as deputy chief of staff to a governor and chief development officer for a major US city. She led nonprofit organizations including a chamber of commerce, economic development foundation, and an economic & financial security research & advocacy organization. She worked to build community development credit unions and community outreach programs. Donna managed to find herself in the middle of efforts to rebuild the Gulf Coast after the hurricane season of 2005. Donna has raised awareness of and funding to address some of the most serious matters facing households across the country including housing insecurity, food insecurity, mental health matters and predatory lending practices. She remains an outspoken advocate in matters of social, racial, gender and economic justice. There are those who would say she can’t stick with a job. There are those who said her interests are too broad and wide ranging. There are those who said she overthinks things and gets bored easily. There are those who said she’s a nomad and can’t sit still for very long. There was no one who EVER said she might have ADHD. Until 2021.