Kimberly Donellan

ESNorCal Chair

Kim Donellan has been involved in the special needs community from a very early age. Growing up with two sisters with very different disabilities, she developed a deep passion for helping others, which inspired her pursuit of becoming an Educational Therapist and Advocate.

In 2007, she founded her company, Kim Donellan Educational Services. Kim and her team deliver individualized programs incorporating and infusing academics, social, emotional, executive functioning, behavioral and life-skills goals in a multi-sensory approach. In addition to her company, Kim works with the Morrissey-Compton Educational Center conducting assessments and providing educational therapy sessions. She also works with the Santa Clara County Department of Children and Family Services advocating for the educational rights of children within the foster care systems.

Previously, Kim was the Academic Program Director at The Helix School, where she helped the founder create and design an innovative school specifically for children with autism spectrum disorder. She first dipped her toes into the educational world when she began working at the center her sister went to for intensive reading intervention every summer, Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes.

Before Kim immersed herself into the special needs community, she was an internal auditor at a large nonprofit in the Bay Area that generated over half a billion dollars in revenue. She managed large-scale internal audit projects for contracts with government agencies, and developed company and divisional process improvements, spanning over 2,500 employees.

Kim earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Davis. She earned her Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Davis. She earned her graduate certificate in Educational Therapy from the University of California, Riverside. Kim is a certified Educational Therapist/Professional through the Association of Educational Therapists.