About Donna

Over four decades, Donna has steered long and short-term initiatives in academic, public and private non-profit sectors.  Soon after earning a MSW at Adelphi University, Donna served as the Associate Director of the National Institute for Sentencing Alternatives at Brandeis University, followed by seven years with the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation guiding efforts in four states to reduce reliance on harsh punishments and incarceration of non-violent offenders.

 

Since then, Donna has worked in more than fifty state and county jurisdictions providing strategic planning, collaborative team building, research, and training services to: embed evidence-based decision-making into criminal justice systems; improve and bring equity into pretrial legal systems; serve the needs of crime victims; achieve successful offender reentry; and manage sex offenders under community supervision.

 

In 2000, Donna joined FSA, applying her skills to a wider range of social issues in her home state of Vermont. Whether focused on efforts to incorporate peer recovery services within the mental health system, planning for the needs of aging Vermonters and citizens with disabilities, evaluating local approaches to support young children and their families, Donna is committed to engage all concerned parties in finding common ground and building mutually beneficial solutions.  Practically, this means helping policy makers, service providers, consumers and advocates achieve outcomes informed by good data, driven by an understanding of "what works", and dedicated to improving the lives and well-being of individuals and their communities.

 

Donna values the growth, challenges and partnerships presented by the amazing work that comes her way, and credits Vermont's Green Mountains, civil society and abundant quiet for keeping her grounded and grateful in these exciting and demanding times.