Erika Donalds

Education entrepreneur Erika Donalds is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of OptimaEd and The Optima Foundation. She is a finance professional with a passion for education and has offered her expertise in business and policy to help further the expansion of high-quality school choice options and to improve accountability and governance in Florida’s public schools.

Erika is a former elected member of the Collier County School Board and now serves as a visiting fellow for The Heritage Foundation Center for Education Policy. She previously sat on Florida’s 2017-2018 Constitution Revision Commission, Governor DeSantis’ Advisory Committee on Education and Workforce Development, and the Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees. She is on advisory boards for Heritage Foundation, Classical Learning, Moms for Liberty, and the Independent Women’s Forum Education Freedom Center.

Prior to launching OptimaEd, Erika spent 20 years in the financial services industry. She was Chief Financial Officer/Chief Compliance Officer and Partner at a multi-billion-dollar investment management firm, responsible for finance, compliance, and operations, in addition to serving on the Management Committee.

Erika holds a BS in Accounting from Florida State University and a Master of Accountancy from Florida Atlantic University, where she is a Distinguished Alumni Honoree. She is a former Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Erika and her husband Byron have lived in Naples since 2002 and have three sons – Damon, Darin, & Mason.