Meet and Greet with Erika Donalds

Erika Donalds, CPA, CGMA

Erika Donalds is the Chief Executive Officer of Optima Ed, an education experience company dedicated to expanding

high quality school choice. A mother of three boys and former finance executive with a passion for education, she has

offered her expertise in business to help further the expansion of parental choice and to improve accountability and

governance in Florida’s public schools.

Prior to launching Optima, Erika was Chief Financial Officer/Chief Compliance Officer and Partner at DGHM​, an

investment management firm. She served with the company for almost 20 years and was responsible for the finance,

compliance, and operations, in addition to serving on the firm’s Management Committee .Erika holds a BS in

Accounting from Florida State University and a Masters in Accountancy from Florida Atlantic University. She is a

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA)

Erika is a former elected member of the Collier County School Board. During her tenure, she co-founded the Florida

Coalition of School Board Members and served as the group’s President. She was appointed to Florida’s 2017-2018

Constitution Revision Commission by then-Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran, and recently served on Governor

DeSantis’ Advisory Committee on Education and Workforce Development.

Erika now serves on the Heritage Foundation Advisory Council on Education Reform, and on advisory boards for

Classical Learning Test, Moms for Liberty, and the Independent Women’s Forum Education Freedom Center.