Harris Donna

Biography

Donna Harris is at Co-Founder since January 2013, Strategic Advisor, and Member of the Board of Directors of 1776 Campus, Inc. Previously she served as a Co-Chief Executive Officer at the firm. She is a Strategic Advisor to the 1776 Board of Directors of the firm. Under her leadership 1776 has grown from a theory to a globally recognized brand at the center of worldwide startup activity. She is a Co-Founder of K Street Capital. She is also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Georgetown University and a founding member of FounderCorps. Ms. Harris served as a Managing Director of Startup Regions at Startup America Partnership, LLC from September 2011 to February 2013. Working in partnership with the White House, the Kauffman Foundation and the Case Foundation she led the formation of entrepreneurial communities across the United States and integrated them into a national startup ecosystem. Her work was the precursor to the Startup Nations initiative, enabling informal knowledge-sharing among economies to help accelerate new and young firm formation in their countries in order to create jobs, build economies and expand human welfare. Having founded or been on the senior leadership team of four separate companies, Ms. Harris is working with entrepreneurs all over the country to build strong startup communities that can generate more successful startups and accelerate the trajectory of their growth. She was a serial entrepreneur, launching, scaling and existing numerous companies in healthcare, education, and public affairs. Ms. Harris was the Chief Executive Officer of Commision33 from October 2010 to September 2011. Prior to joining the Partnership, she served as Vice Chair and Chief Operating Officer of Interpoint Group. Under her leadership, Interpoint grew tenfold. She was previously the Founder of Kinderstreet and served as its Chief Executive Officer and President. Ms. Harris grew the company from concept to a national leader in the field with more than 900 active schools using the product across 41 states. She also served as Vice President of Strategic Planning, Marketing, and Product Management for Centromine. There, she led all product and market strategy and assisted in raising $11 million in venture capital financing. Ms. Harris was the President and Chief Executive Officer of CC Corporation from 1998 to 1999. She has also previously held a variety of roles at Oracle Corporation and EDS. She is an alumna of Springboard Enterprises. She serves as a Trustee of the Federal City Council, a policy adviser to the Economic Innovation Group, and is on the Board of Directors of the Global Entrepreneurship Network. Ms. Harris is a Board Member of National Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation from September 2012. She was a Board Member of The World Academy for the Future of Women from January 2011 to February 2012. She is a four-time entrepreneur and a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship, startup community building, and economic development. Ms. Harris is also a contributor to publications like the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and Huffington Post. Recognized as one of Washington, D.C.’s Power 100 by Washington Business Journal and Washington Life, and as a Tech Titan by Washingtonian Magazine, she has become one of the most influential leaders in the region’s new economy. She has received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from American University. Ms. Harris received her MBA with distinction in Strategy and Entrepreneurship with distinction from The University of Michigan Ross School of Business in 1999 and her bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University in 1990.

Research Interest

Pharmaceuticals