Speaking Experience
I bring together nearly two decades of technology leadership, founder experience, public storytelling, and community-centered brand building. My work focuses on helping people and organizations think more clearly about identity, systems, entrepreneurship, inclusion, and what it means to build something real.
Speaking Topics
Inclusive entrepreneurship and building from lived experience
Black queer business ownership and visibility
Career transitions with pride and purpose
Technology as a tool for small business growth
Building community-centered brands
Digital systems that support creative work
Sustainable fashion, identity, and community-centered entrepreneurship
Navigating corporate spaces while building aligned work
What fashion, tech, and business get wrong about inclusion
HBCU Climate Ventures
Invited to speak on sustainable fashion, entrepreneurship, and building a community-centered brand rooted in identity, purpose, and responsible growth.
oSTEM 2025 Annual Conference
Panelist for “Navigating Career Changes with Pride and Purpose,” focused on career transitions, identity, and building a professional path that feels aligned.
Federal Government LGBTQ+ & African American Employee Programs
Served as a speaker for federal employee programs focused on LGBTQ+ and African American audiences, with remarks centered on leadership, identity, career growth, belonging, and showing up authentically at work.
Apple at Work
Featured as founder of 17th & Granville in a conversation on inclusivity, technology, and business.
Community Events & Pop-Ups
Led brand conversations and direct community engagement through Pride events, markets, and local activations.
Podcast / Media Interviews
Shared the 17th & Granville founder story, brand purpose, and perspective on identity, entrepreneurship, and community.
selected speaking & public work
Press & features
AFRO News
Baltimore Banner
Baltimore Voyager
HeyFamm
Apple at Work
Posh Lifestyle and Beauty Blog
Pink Robin
Professional Experience
Technology Leadership & operations
Nearly two decades of experience leading technology operations, infrastructure, support models, vendor relationships, service delivery, modernization, and cross-functional projects in high-pressure, mission-driven environments.
project management & implementation
Experienced moving complex work from idea to execution by clarifying scope, timelines, ownership, dependencies, risk, vendors, and next steps. My background includes project planning, digital transformation, process improvement, technology rollouts, and operational coordination across technical and nontechnical teams.
TECHNOLOGY support & service delivery
I understand the real work behind keeping systems, people, and teams supported. My experience includes user support, escalation paths, SLA expectations, onboarding workflows, executive support, troubleshooting, field operations, and creating repeatable support processes that make work easier.
cybersecurity, risk & responsible technology
Experience aligning technology decisions with security, risk, compliance, governance, access control, incident readiness, and responsible adoption of emerging tools like AI and automation.
vendor & budget strategy
Experienced working with vendors, contracts, budgets, licensing, cost optimization, service expectations, and technology investments. I help people make practical decisions instead of getting overwhelmed by tools and options.
Founder & Brand Builder
Founder of 17th & Granville, a Black, nonbinary, LGBTQ-owned lifestyle and clothing brand rooted in identity, comfort, community, and self-expression. My founder work brings together e-commerce, storytelling, pop-ups, partnerships, customer experience, and community-centered growth.
inclusive leadership & public speaking
Speaker and community-centered leader with experience engaging LGBTQ+, African American, STEM, government, and entrepreneurship audiences. My work focuses on identity, leadership, career growth, belonging, technology, and building aligned work.
Focus Areas
Technology strategy
Website and ecommerce support
Project management and implementation
Technical support and troubleshooting
Vendor coordination
Small business systems
Inclusive leadership
Public speaking and workshops
Founder storytelling
Community-centered brand building
Bring Donny into the room
For speaking, workshops, panels, brand strategy, website support, partnerships, or media inquiries, reach out with a few details.