Meet Donna
Your Independent Choice for Virginia
Donna was born and raised in Queens, NY, by middle class immigrants who came to the United States legally in the early 1970s and became citizens in the early 1980s and 1990s.
Donna attended private Catholic schools in Queens and is a proud graduate of St. Francis Preparatory School, where she was a science nerd, a cheerleader, and student body vice president. She went on to Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA, where she earned her BS in Biology. After graduating and then working as a research assistant at the Hershey College of Medicine, Donna attended Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. She was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, where she served stateside and overseas for almost ten years of active duty and reserve time.
Donna's roles as a missile maintenance officer, and later as an intelligence officer, allowed her to support a range of national security missions early in her career. It was during this time that she developed a deep appreciation for the sacrifices and contributions her brothers and sisters in arms make in service to our country every day all over the world.
In 2007, Donna left active duty service after returning from a back-to-back deployment to Iraq and decided to make Virginia her home. As a civilian, Donna spent more than a decade as a federal civil servant at the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of State, where she handled counterterrorism, sanctions, and other national security issues. From March 2019 until March 2020, right as the world was locking down for the COVID-19 pandemic, Donna was detailed from the State Department to the National Security Council as the Director for Counterterrorism. She earned her Masters degree in International Affairs from Tufts University, and eventually made her way to Capitol Hill where she served as a House of Representatives committee staffer for two years.
Donna has always put mission before politics and realizes there is a reason that more and more people identify as independents in Virginia and nationwide. Now, she has a new mission: to take up the banner for all Virginians who are tired of the hyperpartisanship and are ready for an independent voice that reflects our shared common-sense values. Donna knows that what Virginians are looking for right now is a fighter.
What is she fighting for? Your right to raise your family in a safe and healthy environment. Your right (not the government's), to decide how and when your family grows. Your right to earn a decent and reliable living here in the Commonwealth. Donna will work tirelessly to make Virginia an even better place for you to call home.
Looking forward, Donna will continue to pull from her decades of experience in the public sector to fight for the values and ideals that Virginians share.
