Erika Donalds

Erika Donalds
Donalds at AmericaFest 2025
Born
Erika Brynne Lees

1980 (age 45–46)
EducationFlorida State University (BS)
Florida Atlantic University (MS)
OccupationActivist
Years active2013–present
Political party
Republican
Spouse
​
(m. 2003)​
Children3

Erika Brynne Donalds (née Lees; born sometime in 1980) is an American activist from Florida who primarily advocates for school choice. She leads education policy at the America First Policy Institute. Her husband, Byron Donalds, is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early life and education

Donalds holds a bachelor's degree (Florida State University, 2002) and a master's degree (Florida Atlantic University, 2006) in accounting.

Career

Donalds worked for New York investment management firm Dalton, Greiner, Hartman, Maher & Co., LLC (DGHM) from 2002 until 2018.

Education activism

In 2013, following a dispute with administrators of her second child's public school in Naples, Donalds placed her child in a private school. She became involved in local efforts (via the group Parents ROCK) to deploy state education funds to establish a charter school, the Mason Classical Academy.

Donalds at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference

Donalds was named by Florida House of Representatives Speaker Richard Corcoran to the 2017-2018 Constitution Revision Commission. Governor Ron DeSantis appointed her to the Advisory Committee on Education and Workforce Development and the Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees.

In 2017, Donalds founded OptimaEd, a company that provides management support for several classical charter schools in Florida.

Donalds currently leads education policy at the America First Policy Institute. She is also a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation and serves on the advisory boards of Classical Learning Test, Moms for Liberty, and the Independent Women's Forum Education Freedom Center.[citation needed]

In October 2025, Donalds embarked on a campus speaking tour with the Leadership Institute. Calling the U.S. education system "wasteful, bureaucratic, monopolistic", she advocated for privatizing the student loan system and increasing the number of groups administering standardized testing. In a September 2026 Ronald Reagan Institute roundtable, she advocated for increased integration of artificial intelligence in the education system.

Personal life

She married Byron Donalds on March 15, 2003. They have three children and live in Naples, Florida.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cleary, Tom (January 5, 2023). "Erika Lees Donalds, Byron Donalds' Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Commissioner Erika Donalds". 2017-2018 Constitutional Review Commission. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  3. ↑ Jacob, Ogles (January 22, 2019). "Erika Donalds brings years of commitment to school choice issue". Florida Politics. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  4. ↑ Bennett Williams, Amy (August 10, 2020). "Candidate Byron Donalds and his accuser each calls the other a liar; ethics commission won't weigh in until at least next month". Fort Myers News-Press. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  5. ↑ Ogles, Jacob (March 26, 2022). "Gov. DeSantis names Erika Donalds to FGCU Board of Trustees". Florida Politics. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  6. ↑ Gordon, Mark (October 22, 2020). "Florida charter school leader targets expansion". Business Observer. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  7. ↑ Leonard, Kimberly (June 30, 2025). "Erika Donalds talks education policy and gov race". POLITICO. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  8. ↑ Leonard, Kimberly (October 16, 2025). "Erika Donalds kicks off speech tour". POLITICO. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  9. ↑ Morel, Laura C. (October 15, 2026). "Byron Donalds is pro–data centers. So is his stock portfolio". Mother Jones. Retrieved October 16, 2026.