A two-time alumnus of Duquesne University, Ms. Donaldson holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in English Literature. Her research interests include British eighteenth-century studies, with an emphasis on the intersections of gender, performance, and the theatre. She also presented some of her work at Masculinities, Femininities and More: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Gender in the Humanities at the University of West Georgia. An actress and former model, Ms. Donaldson has performed with the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Shakespeare in the Schools with the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, and the Harold Pinter Studio Theatre in London, and she has been in commercials and industrial films for companies such as Dick's Sporting Goods, Victoria's Secret, and GNC. She also did runway fashion shows, commercial print, and voice-over work. In 2015, she retired the The Secret Agent L Project, an international movement centered around intentional acts of kindness with over 2,000 participants located in 8 countries, which she founded in 2009. She has been invited regularly to serve as a keynote speaker for organizations and events including The Girl Scouts of Western PA, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (Southwestern PA), on whose board of directors she currently serves, and The Consortium for Public Education's The Future is Mine Leadership Conference, among others.