Category: Donaldson Consulting, LLC

Suzanne Donaldson is founder and CEO of Donaldson Consulting, LLC. Suzanne advises her public and private clients on managing their projects efficiently; implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion; providing business coaching for underutilized firms; and ensuring agency contracting compliance.

Donaldson Consulting, LLC is recognized in the construction and design community for creating a level playing field for underserved communities and businesses and collaborating effectively with multiple stakeholders. She has consulted on public and private development projects with over several billion dollars.

  • Keen Independent Research —  Disparity Studies

    Community Engagement Consultant, 2014-present

    Conducting disparity studies on behalf of Keen Independent Research for the City of Vancouver, City of Tacoma, City of Providence, RI and State of Rhode Island, Port of Portland, Santa Clara County, State of Oregon Mental Health Regulatory Agency, Salem Area Mass Transit Department, and Oregon Department of Transportation.

    Participating in internal and external stakeholder meetings, conducting in-depth interviews throughout Oregon, and preparing monthly progress reports analyzing whether there is a level playing field for MBE and WBE firms in the Oregon transportation contracting industry and in its own contracts. Conducting reviews of agency procurement and contracting materials.

    Also conducted a workforce equity study for the City of Tacoma, assessing whether the makeup of the City’s workforce looks like the residents of Tacoma and surrounding communities.

  • Metro | Training and Certification Assistance

    Diversity and Small Business Consultant, 2015-present

    Working with Metro staff in continuing to develop Metro’s small business development program to align with their strategic diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Serving as an advisor to make recommendations for additional improvements.

    Developed and cofacilitated a “How to Respond to RFP” workshop; performed outreach to potential bidders; identified potential barriers to proposing; assisted qualified firms with the certification process; provided technical assistance to proposers responding to requests for proposals; and provided due diligence documentation. As an example, for one RFP, helped five firms become certified and provided proposal technical assistance to six firms. A total of 15 certified firms received a contract, over 50 percent of the contracts awarded to certified firms. 

    Testimonial

    “With Suzanne’s outstanding leadership, dedication, and ability to support our organization’s project goals, we achieved great success in providing assistance to our clients. I strongly recommend Suzanne Donaldson for projects that require strong leadership, professionalism, great organizational skills, and a pleasant demeanor. Suzanne has been very dedicated in helping Metro to increase diversity in contracting. I had the pleasure of organizing a workshop for which Suzanne was one of the winning proposers and took a leadership role in making the event a success. Suzanne worked on a project team to plan the workshop and conduct training on MWESB certification, sustainability in contracting, and how to do write successful proposals. Suzanne distinguished herself from other team members by her excellent leadership skills, outstanding outreach work, and dedication to the workshop. I particularly appreciate Suzanne’s authentic approach and excellent presentation skills to educate traditionally underserved businesses about how to do business with public agencies. The weeks following the workshop, Suzanne committed herself to providing technical assistance to the workshop attendees in order for them to achieve their MWESB certification and write strong proposals. As a result, Metro has received an increasing number of successful proposals from traditionally underserved businesses. Suzanne is a great team player and easy to work with. We are looking forward to working with her in the future. We are in the process of planning more workshops and outreach events for which we will seek Suzanne’s great expertise again.”

    Gabriele Schuster, Procurement Manager, Metro

    Learn more about our Diversity Consulting and Training/Mentoring Services.