Donna Van De Water: Lead detective in hundreds of organizational mysteries

Donna Van De Water is a partner with Lipman Hearne, having founded the firm’s renowned research practice more than 11 years ago.

This practice has included clients as varied as the Pew Charitable Trusts, Amherst College, Lincoln Park Zoo, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Council on Aging. The work includes both qualitative and quantitative research, and it has addressed scores of issues—crucial questions that organizations face in the course of serving their missions. In a sense, Donna has been the lead investigator in a series of organizational mysteries: Why are our college applications falling? What do our members want? How can we get them to open our brochure? Does anyone know the difference between us and the other guys?

Donna has helped large institutions, small colleges, grant-making foundations, and others to understand their audiences and constituencies, rethink image and position, reinvigorate membership, build admissions, and develop new communication strategies.

She has a Ph.D. in psychology from Loyola University of Chicago, and she also holds a Master of Management from Northwestern's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, where she served as a faculty member, teaching research methods in marketing. She’s been certified as Expert by the Marketing Research Association. Donna teaches market research courses for The Goodman Center.