Over her 30-year career, Donna has held senior executive positions in both the public and private sectors. She served as deputy chief of staff for strategic planning and initiatives for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and chief of staff to First Lady Maria Shriver. Donna also served as deputy press secretary for Gov. George Deukmejian, deputy treasurer for state Treasurer Tom Hayes, and California press secretary for the 1988 presidential campaign of then Vice President George H.W. Bush. Donna also was the global and public affairs practice leader for Porter Novelli, an international PR firm, after Porter Novelli acquired Nelson Communications Group, where she served as president and CEO for several years.

Donna currently serves on the Executive Committee on the California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She is Chair-Emeritus of the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), and also serves on the boards of the Crocker Art Museum, John Burton Advocates for Youth, College Futures Foundation, All About Sacramento, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Maria Shriver’s Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement. Donna is also a founding member of She Shares, a unique conversation series featuring trailblazing women leaders who have created a lasting impact for women in California and beyond. She is routinely named one of Sacramento’s 100 most powerful people and is often listed as one of the state

Capitol’s most influential people and in 2018 was named Sacramento Business Woman of the Year. Donna resides in Sacramento with her husband Greg Lucas, California’s State Librarian.