Donna was born in Hampton, Virginia and surrounded by a musical family. She made her first appearance singing at the tender age of three when she wandered onto the stage with a bluegrass band and broke out into "Take This Hammer". From that moment until now there has never been any doubt that she would be creating music. She worked in a local western swing band where she met and married Rick Stanley being fully indoctrinated into a bluegrass family when Rick's cousin Ralph Stanley along with the Clinch Mountain Boys performed at their wedding reception.
In the 1980's Donna moved to Nashville and stayed busy singing demos for publishers and writers which brought her to the attention of Atlantic Records where she was signed and released an album "Trouble at the Door" in 1991. The album had three single releases and two videos. During this time she appeared on the network TV show "Hot Country Nights", was a guest on Hee Haw, Nashville Now, & Crook and Chase.
After a heartbreaking ending on a major label Donna met Ray and Douglas Johnson of Hadley Music Group, her current publisher. They recognized her incredible talent as a singer and wanted to champion her talent. It was suggested by a major label head and friend that Donna find her true voice through writing. Her new CD "When I Look Back" is the result of that journey. In her own words she says," this is the best music I have ever been involved in. From the very first count on the very first song I recorded for this CD, we breathed as one... melody, lyric, instrumentation and vocally; a perfect marriage. I have found myself at last!"