Donna Haghighat came to the Women’s Fund with over 12 years of experience developing programs, cultivating relationships, launching startups, fundraising, directing communications strategy, creating strategic plans, and building advocacy programs. Under her leadership, the Women’s Fund has successfully launched The Young Women’s Initiative for girls and young women of color in Springfield, The Greater Springfield Women’s Economic Security Hub, and focused on racial equity and trust-based philanthropy. The Women’s Fund now invests in community partners and often works alongside them to bring about change by and with the community. Haghighat enjoys facilitating the monthly meetings of The Women Heads of Nonprofits group in Western MA which the Women’s Fund hosts.

In 2021, Haghighat was appointed by MA Senate President Karen Spilka to serve on the State of MA Community Reinvestment Fund Advisory Board. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Social Justice at Western New England School of Law and is Treasurer for the Board of WAM Theatre in the Berkshires.

Haghighat was awarded the Trinity College Alumni Medal of Excellence in 2019, was the grand prize winner of the 2012 University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business International Business Plan Competition, and was recognized as The Trinity Club of Hartford’s Person of the Year in 1999 and the Trinity College National Alumni Association Award in 1996.