Donna Zerger
Donna is a women’s wellness and mental health advocate whose work is rooted in lived experience, resilience, and a deep commitment to helping women find hope and healing. Although she spent many years working in the finance industry with banks and insurance companies, she ultimately discovered that her true passion lies in supporting women who are suffering in silence. For the past two and a half years, she has focused her energy on creating spaces where women feel seen, heard, and supported as they navigate emotional challenges and life transitions. Alongside her wellness work, she continues to serve as an office manager for a financial advisor, balancing both responsibilities while steadily building her purpose-driven mission.
Donna’s personal journey has been the driving force behind her work. After years of struggling with her own emotional well-being and feeling disconnected from joy and hope, she eventually came to understand that healing and fulfillment were possible for her too. That realization transformed her perspective and became the foundation of her mission: to help other women recognize that they are not alone and that change is possible. Her approach is grounded in authenticity and compassion, shaped by her belief that honest connection is often the first step toward healing. One of her most meaningful accomplishments includes developing a two-year program for a single mothers organization, where she led monthly sessions focused on nutrition, exercise, and mindset.
Today, Donna is focused on expanding her impact through outreach, speaking, and program development in the women’s wellness space. She is passionate about helping women reconnect with their sense of worth and discover paths toward emotional and mental well-being that feel real and sustainable. Her work emphasizes trust, honesty, and being a steady support system for those navigating difficult seasons of life. Through her professional and personal experiences, she encourages others to pursue what truly aligns with their heart, believing that fulfillment comes from authenticity rather than obligation. Her mission continues to grow as she supports women in rewriting their stories and stepping into healthier, more hopeful futures.
• Toastmasters and speaking certifications
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Toastmasters
• Two-year program for single mothers organization providing monthly sessions on nutrition
• Exercise
• And mindset
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever gotten was probably, don't roll your eyes and just say yes. I would say yes to requests, but I would roll my eyes and go, oh, okay, yes, I'll do it. And I was told, try doing that without rolling your eyes and just saying yes. Another piece of advice that really stuck with me was no pre-whining. I would take a project into my boss and start off by telling him everything that went wrong and why it's not good, why it's not a good report. And he just said, no pre-whining, just give it to me, I know it's gonna be good. And I stopped pre-whining. I thought, well, that's kind of silly to try to cut it down before they even had a chance to look at it.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to follow your heart and follow your passion. Whatever you're passionate about is what you will be the best at, because you'll come across as authentic, and that it's really important to you, and you'll have a fire in you to be sure that you get the information to as many people as possible, no matter what you do. And if you don't like the first thing you try, try something else. Don't stay there for 20 years and say, I wish I had. That's kind of how I did it - I just fell into things, and they served me well, and I've learned from everything, but it's taken me this long to find what my passion is and what my message is.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, I would say the biggest challenge is getting people to trust you. I think there's so many people out there hawking so many things, and it's really hard for people to know who's real and who's not real. I think that's probably the hardest thing right now - just finding out, knowing what's real and what's not real.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
What's most important to me is honesty - very, very important. Loyalty is also crucial to me. And being authentic, no matter how messy it might get. I'd also say relationships - I don't know if this is a value or not, but it is important to me.