University Libraries

Education    

• Master of Arts, Information Resources and Library Science | University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (2004)
• Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing | University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX (2000)
• Certificate of Teaching English as a Foreign Language | Transworld Schools, San Francisco, CA (2000)
• Bachelor of Arts, English | University of Georgia, Athens, GA (1996)
• Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT® 200), Yoga Alliance (since 2019), with 150+ additional hours toward RYT® 500

Selected Professional Development

• of / by / for all Change Network (2023)
• In process:  Facilitation Skills Certificate Program, Eastern Kentucky University (2019, 2021) 
• Food Solutions New England’s Racial Equity Challenge (2020)
• Library Leadership in a Digital Age - Harvard Graduate School of Education (2018)
• The Harwood Institute for Public Innovators - Libraries (2018)
• Non-Violent Communication - study at Against the Grain Farm (2020-2023)

Work History at a Glance

2022 - present
Independent project work in regenerative ag and libraries, focusing on development, strategic planning, and communication

organizations include

• Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary | https://spikenardfarm.org 
  as Grant Writer and Outreach Coordinator
• Appalachian State University Libraries | https://library.appstate.edu 
  as Special Assistant to the Dean (part-time)
• The Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics | https://www.jpibiodynamics.org
  as Development and Strategy Consultant 
• Bee Inspired Foundation | https://www.beehero.org 
  as Greenhouse Manager and Grant Writer
• Biodynamic Demeter Alliance | https://biodynamicdemeteralliance.org
  as Membership Coordinator 

2020 - 2022
Fundraising & Donor Communications Coordinator
Biodynamic Association &  Biodynamic Demeter Alliance | www.biodynamics.com

2015 - 2020
Associate Dean
William & Mary Libraries
Williamsburg, Virginia

2004 - 2015
Associate Dean, librarian, tenured associate professor, and administrator
Appalachian State University
Boone, North Carolina

2003 - 2004
Special Assistant to the Dean
University of Arizona Libraries &
Center for Creative Photography
Tucson, Arizona

Before 2003
1-3 year positions & residencies for writing, college-level teaching, and library work.  Taught college English literature, translation, and composition in U.S., Chile, and Japan.  Assisted in diversity and early academic outreach office (University of Arizona) and human resources (University of Georgia).  Staff positions in circulation, children's/YA libraries, & humanities for public  and academic libraries. 

Description of Recent Roles:

Special Assistant to the Dean | part-time (current)
Appalachian State University Libraries | https://library.appstate.edu 
➞   Support strategic initiatives through facilitation, research, mentoring, and planning activities as directed by the Dean of Libraries.  Semester-long projects have included co-writing a PR Toolkit for the Libraries; mentor/coach for e-resources and cataloging colleagues; collaborating with team leaders on job description redesigns, and supporting the dean's Library of the Future initative.   

Grant Writer | part-time (current)
Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary | https://spikenardfarm.org 
➞   Manage funding strategies including research & development of new and recurring grants and preparation of philanthropic requests for a non-profit 41-acre honeybee sanctuary with a broad educational and outreach mission in sustainable beekeeping and land stewardship.  

Fundraising & Donor Communications Coordinator (2020-2022)
Biodynamic Association (BDA) and Biodynamic Demeter Alliance | www.biodynamics.com
➞   Manage fundraising appeals, including a crowdfunding scholarship campaign for the annual conference ($30,000), a fall appeal for the general support of BDA programs and services ($80,000 in FY2021 and $100,000 in FY2022), and a spring membership campaign.  Designed campaign focus, materials, target asks, and goals with support from stakeholders.  Secured 3-5 lead gifts for each campaign from donors and communicated regularly with members, business partners, funding and granting agencies, and colleagues from new and current partner organizations.  

Associate Dean for Collections & Content Services (2015 - 2020)
William & Mary | Williamsburg, Virginia | https://libraries.wm.edu 
➞ Led the library’s initiatives in collections, budget & finance, technical services and systems, digital services, and scholarly communication.  Supervised 18 member department with 5-8 direct reports.  Managed $9.7 MM budget with $3.5 million for collections and over 120 endowment accounts.  Negotiated vendor contracts, licenses, and pricing, saving thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.  Led using team-based management and shared decision making.  

Associate Dean of Libraries (2012 - 2014)
Appalachian State University Library | Boone, North Carolina
➞ Responsible for successful planning, assessment, and financial management of library’s operations and for building a learning organization of 80-90 faculty and staff, turned outward toward community needs.  Fostered a productive, professional culture with a focus on innovation and risk-taking, excellent project management, shared governance and transparency, and professional and organizational development.  

Director, SACSCOC Compliance Certification (2009 - 2013)
Office of the Provost | Appalachian State University | Boone, North Carolina
➞ Led the University's 10-year reaccreditation process with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.  

Summary of Academic Work

• 29 total publications | 16 national presentations | over 30 appointments in the American Library Association
• 30+ search committees | 100+ committees and opportunities to lead and participate in university & library service
• Strategic Planning experience at the library, university, and UNC System levels
• Appointments with the American Library Association, Association of College & Research Libraries, Western North Carolina Library Network, LYRASIS, Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium (VIVA), NC LIVE (North Carolina’s statewide library cooperative).
• Awarded $100,000 National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Humanities Advancement Grant, Level II for “Transkribus and Georgian Papers Programme Tabular-Formatted Manuscripts.”  Submitted twice; authored the grant for primary investigator Debbie Cornell in our area and colleagues in the Department of Computer Science, 2019.
• Donovan, Georgie and M Mueller.  “Farm Succession:  Spikenard Honeybee Farm Sanctuary.”  Biodynamics, 301 (Fall 2021 / Winter 2022).  
• Donovan, Georgie.  “Connecting to the Farm Individuality:  Three Farms Talk about Their Relationships with the Biodynamic Association.”  Biodynamics,  300 (Spring 2021).  
• Donovan, Georgie and Miguel Figueroa, eds.  Staff Development Strategies that Work:  Stories and Strategies from New Librarians.  New York:  Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2009.  Also Chapter 14:  “Professional Service on National Library Committees:  Developing the Skills to Lead.” by Georgie Donovan. 

Areas of Current Service

Ongoing service and learning work with teachers and coaches in such work as:

• Honey and native bee vitality and forage | pollinator plants and weeds of NC
  Example:  I host a monthly beekeeper's Q&A with Spikenard.  
• Dhamma / dharmic studies through Vipassana as taught by S.N. Goenka and through Rajanaka with Dr. Douglas Brooks at University of Rochester | decolonizing the yoga practice
  Example:  I focused 2022-2023 on taking new courses with teachers who are from India, including Anusha Wijeyakumar, Susanna Barkataki and Dr. Shyam Ranganathan which led me to new ways of teaching yoga.
• Racial equity | holocracy, team-based management, teal organizations | facilitation and organizational culture
  Example:  I live on Against the Grain Farm where I volunteer. For several years, I’ve co-coordinated the crowd-funding of free weekly farm boxes  for 10% of our customers who are BIPOC or disabled.  I facilitate farm meetings and orientations.  In fall 2023, I began consulting with the Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics to create a shared set of aspirations, fundraising goals, prioritized capital needs, and a suite of communications to share with new partners.