Elected to the Burlingame City Council in 2015, Donna Colson is a two time Mayor having served in 2019 and 2024. Her work in Burlingame is focused on improving infrastructure, economic development, housing, sea level rise adaptation, and climate initiatives. She serves in the following roles:
Prior to serving on the Burlingame City Council Donna spent twenty-five years working in global institutional pension management and consulting where she advised cities, states, foundations, endowments and unions on investment matters. She also founded a local Business called the Burlingamer which hosted futsal and soccer training and competition. Education has been a priority and over the years and she served in numerous leadership roles in parent organizations and helped to pass several bonds and parcel taxes that supported our outstanding Burlingame public schools. Presently she serves on the Board of Directors for Filoli Estate and Garden (President 2015) which recently hosted President Xi and President Biden at the Woodside Summit, and is on the UC Berkeley Haas Business School Advisory Committee and Co-Chair of the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership, the SMC Historical Museum and the College of Letters and Science Advisory Board at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Donna lives in Burlingame with her husband Eric and they have two adult daughters. She attended UC Berkeley undergraduate earning a BA in Political Economics and a MBA with emphasis in real estate and finance.
She has been awarded the H.J. Burns Award for Community Service to Youth and Families, the Burlingame Community Foundation Award for Leadership, and the Franklin Elementary and Burlingame Intermediate School Community Service Awards.
In her spare time, Donna enjoys painting with her art class friends, traveling with her husband and family, reading non-fiction, and strolling the grounds of Filoli.
