Donna Harris is Founder of Builders + Backers, Co-Founder of 1776 and Managing Partner of 1776 Ventures; and she was previously Managing Director of the Startup America Partnership. As a board member of both the Global Entrepreneurship Network and the National Center for Entrepreneurship, an Advisor to the Economic Innovation Group, and a Distinguished Fellow of the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at The Busch School, Donna works to inspire entrepreneurs to create companies of impact and to become leaders in their communities. She avidly believes in the power of entrepreneurial thinking to drive culture change and collective flourishing and she frequently gives keynote talks to inspire it at conferences and on college campuses around the world.Donna began her career as a system engineer, after which she founded multiple technology companies and was on the leadership team of several others. Over her successful entrepreneurial career, she raised tens of millions in capital and had several successful exits. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University, and MBA from The University of Michigan Ross School of Business and an honorary doctor of laws from American University.