Hello and welcome

My name is Donna.

I work as a Coach, Fractional Leader (BizOps + People), Charity Trustee and Counsellor/Psychotherapist-in-training.

I’ve spent 25+ years working with people in Tech, HR and Business Operations, occupying various leadership roles, up to and including Board level. And been immersed in psychological enquiry: Why do we do the things we do? for almost as long. And because integrity matters to me, I’ve trained extensively. This mix means I understand the professional pressures, the machinations of business, and the psychological reality of humaning in a messy world.

I live and work by three key values: Integrity, Fairness, and Agency.

My career path has taken me from hands-on Technical jobs (Electrical Engineer, Software Engineer) through to Organisational positions (Project/Delivery Manager, Programme Director) to Senior/Executive Leadership roles and Board Membership (Portfolio Manager within a £65m government organisation; Head of Operations & People [COO/CPO] in a Europe-wide Consultancy).

I definitely took the scenic route to get into people-centric work.

I have worked with/for start-ups, scale-ups, volunteering and environmental charitable trusts (Join In, Prince’s Charities, Business in the Community), creative and digital agencies (Metia, AKQA), local authorities and central governments (UK : GDS, HMRC + Western Australia Gov), Non-Departmental Public Bodies (Sport England, VisitBritain), global entertainment companies (BBC Studios, Sony), energy, cybersecurity and technical organisations; across the UK, America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Whilst winning ‘Britain’s Healthiest Workplace’ (SMEs), and being part of the brilliant Psychology Podcast ‘Truth, Lies and Work’ was exciting, it’s the positive benefits to people and organisations, that arises from my work, that means the most.

I am also a Certified Neurodivergent Inclusive Coach; Founding Member of Escape the City (helping people find purposeful work); and former co-organiser of TEDxBrixton.

I am currently pursuing an MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy in service to my voluntary counselling work, and to enable me to offer lower-cost 1-2-1 counselling from autumn 2026.

Last but not least, I am an avid reader of analogue books, an amateur camper, prolific journaller, outdoor swimmer, one-time-published poet, fourth generation complex-jigsaw-doer, and deep thinker. I harbour a dream to visit all seven continents (six down, one to go). My pronouns are She/Her. And I hail from a maternal Irish lineage of gentle activists.

Feel free to explore the benefits of coaching, my professional experience, and my credentials.

And then drop me a note so that we can connect and have a chat : hello@donnaburgess.co.uk