As Chief People & Diversity Officer, Donna Daniels is a member of Ceres executive leadership, leading strategy and operations for Ceres human resources (HR) and Diversity Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. Under her leadership, Ceres has achieved transformative improvements to its HR infrastructure, including creating learning and development pathways for staff, enhancing the talent acquisition pipeline and process, ensuring a competitive and equitable compensation structure, and strengthening DEI initiatives.
Donna comes to Ceres with extensive experience in HR strategy and operations, talent development, and DEI within nonprofit and for-profit organizations in industries including higher education, healthcare and life sciences, and state government. In these roles, she led strategic initiatives, including organizational redesign, compensation strategy, HR process digital transformation, and the development of comprehensive DEI programs serving thousands of employees.
Donna holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Northeastern University, a Master of Education in human resources education from Boston University, and a certification in conflict resolution and social justice mediation. She also maintains an investigation certification from the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). In 2023, Donna was recognized by New England Women in Energy (NEWIEE) with their inaugural DEI Founders' Award for her contributions to advancing DEI in the sector.
A committed advocate for professional development and supporting underrepresented communities, Donna currently serves on the Board of All In Energy and previously served as Chair of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce Diversity Council. She has shared her expertise as an adjunct faculty member at Suffolk University's Sawyer Business School and Emmanuel College's School of Business, and as a coach and consultant to small Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises.