Mr. Donohue was previously a Special Master at Hope High School in Providence, Rhode Island, where he was appointed to oversee implementation of the Rhode Island Commissioner of Education’s Decision and Order to reconstitute the school.

Before his role at Hope High School, Mr. Donohue served as Commissioner of Education for the state of New Hampshire, where he provided professional support and technical assistance to the State Board of Education, the Governor's office, and the Legislature on all aspects of education policy and educational improvement strategies. He was responsible for developing department-wide initiatives, such as the statewide assessment program and accountability and standards system. He also designed the state’s responses to federal education legislation and regulations.

Mr. Donohue has also served as New Hampshire’s Deputy Commissioner of Education, and as a trustee of the University System of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Community Technical College System. He has held a seat on the New Hampshire Post Secondary Education Commission, the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium Commission, and the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. He was also, briefly, a member of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s Board of Directors.

His previous positions include Director of District and School Services for Learning Innovations, where he planned and implemented school improvement strategies, focusing on organizational and professional development; Project Director of the Boston Leadership Academy at Boston University, where he designed and delivered ongoing support and training for 16 Boston public schools as part of the School Leadership for Student Achievement Project; and Coordinator of the Citywide Educational Coalition in Boston, where he created the SchoolWorks Exchange, a resource bank and networking service for Boston public schools.

Mr. Donohue holds a M.Ed. from Harvard University School of Education, and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. For more than a quarter century, he has lived in four New England states and has worked in all six, including 10 years in Greater Boston.

Under his leadership, the Foundation has formed a bold new agenda, aimed at stimulating transformative change in public education systems in order to ensure that all New England’s learners – especially and essentially those from underserved populations – are prepared for success.

Mr. Donohue lives in Hanson, Massachusetts with his wife, Marianne DiMascio, and their two children, Jenny and Dorothy.