Donna Cooper has over 27 years of public policy, strategic analysis, political,business, community engagement, and communications experience. Most recently,Donna served for nearly ten years as Vice President of Governmental and External Affairs and Pepco Region President. Pepco is a leading electric utility company, serving the District of Columbia and Maryland, with 894,000 customers.
Donna was integral to helping the company navigate several periods of transition, including the successful implementation of landmark and transformational enterprise-wide projects and initiatives to enhance grid reliability and resiliency, the customer experience, new technology to modernize systems and processes, enhanced emergency restoration plans, cleaner energy initiatives and programs, with gridassets and system security being foundational. Donna always recognized the importance of ensuring that these innovative programs and initiatives supported greater social and economic equity.
Donna had a strategic role in the $6.8B merger of PHI and Exelon, in 2016, which created the largest electric utility, nationally, where there was an emphasis on the benefit to customers and communities. She is known for ensuring community and stakeholder awareness/engagement and being responsive to diverse interests - always striving to reach consensus. She is extremely adept at collaborating with customers, community, government, business leaders, consumers, non profit entities and other key stakeholders to ensure the interests of all are considered.
Her talents have been focused on the Washington Metropolitan area (District of Columbia and Maryland), in recent years, with several strategic policies and initiatives advanced and implemented by the company, serving as national models.
Prior to her appointment as Pepco Region President, Donna served in several other roles at the company where she advocated for advancing policies, initiatives and operational enhancements in support of the communities that the company serves in the Washington Metropolitan Area.
In addition to her successful corporate career with Pepco, Donna served with distinction as the Director/Policy Officer for the Council of the District of Columbia, leading the creation of this office, and as the Director/Clerk for the Committee on Government Operations, as well as the Executive Director of the National Organization of Black County Officials. Donna’s Wealth of experience and formal education has provided her with the credentials and expertise from the community, government, corporate and non-profit perspective.
Additionally, she has been extremely active, having leadership roles with several non-profit entities, donating her expertise, her time, financial resources and strategic advisement to advance initiatives and programs to ensure economic and social stability in the region as well as advancing important sustainability policies, during one of the most challenging periods in our nation’s history, the COVID-19 pandemic. Through her non-profit and board service, Donna has helped to lead the way in support of climate change, economic and sustainability policies in our nation’s capital.
Her immediate prior affiliations include formerCo-Chair, Washington, DC Economic Partnership, Mayoral appointee, DC Sustainable Energy Utility, Executive Committee Member, District of Columbia Building Industry Association, Second Vice Chair, Downtown Business Improvement District, Former Chair, Prince George’s Business Roundtable and Former Honorary Chair, Covenant House Washington “Sleep Out.” Donna continues to volunteer in support of several non-profit organizations.
Since leaving Pepco, Donna has established DMFaye Strategic Advisement Company. The company will focus on providing consultative support to corporate, government, policy centers, universities and non-profit entities in the areas of strategic visioning and planning; policy development and analysis; stakeholder engagement planning; and communication development and analysis.
Donna has a BA (Political Science) from South Carolina State University, an MA (Public Affairs) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a PhD (Political Science) from Howard University.
Donna resides in Washington, DC and in her spare time enjoys pilates, music, dance,reading, research, and the arts.
