Biography 

Donna Hathaway Beck was born in Irumagawa, Japan, and later, came to Prince George's in 1978.  She graduated from Marcos de Niza High School, in Tempe, Arizona and Mesa Community College, Mesa, Arizona.  Although she has spent many years outside of the county, she has dedicated the last twenty-seven years in service to Prince George's County.

Mrs. Beck’s dedication to making Prince George's County Public Schools a system of academic excellence that also provides safe environments and equal opportunities for all children was recognized when the Maryland State Department of Education awarded her with the Maryland Women's History Project Honoree (for "Activism"), 1996, one of 24 statewide, and the Prince George’s Civic Federation recognized her achievements by bestowing her with the  President’s Award in November 2003., just to name a few.

Mrs. Beck has also served on a number of community committees and councils including  the CB 40 Referendum Committee, where she served as  Chairperson of a county-wide referendum initiative to place council bill 40 on the ballot..  To achieve this she collected and submitted 15,607 signatures to the Board of Elections within the 90-day time limit and successfully filed court challenge of CB 40-2001 on Mar 22, 2002.  Prince George's County Council asked her to serve on Task Force on High School Capacity Alternatives (CR-38-2004),  Commission 2000 (CR-62-98) - a growth management task force composed of 53 Prince Georgians to revisit the Master Plan, appointment by Prince George’s Board of Education, Selection for "Pipeline Sub-Committee"/Commission 2000, and the Task Force for Governmental Operations and Efficiency (CR-27-1996), 1996-1997.

On behalf of the Prince George's County Public Schools Mrs. Beck served on the Parent and Community Advisory Board (PCAB),) Community Advisory Council on Magnet and Compensatory Educational Programs (Committee of 100),  Committee of 100 Management Oversight Panel Liaison, Committee of 100 Co-Chair, Student Assignment and Boundary Sub-Committee,  Superintendents’ appointee to the Home/School Advisory Council, PGCPS Title IX Advisory Committee, Prince George’s County Council of PTAs, and the Superintendent Selection Committee, and was honored with the Prince George’s County Public Schools Volunteer award and a Certificate of Appreciation from Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools.  She has served on every PTA at schools where her children attended,  and was granted Honorary Lifetime membership in the Maryland State PTA.

Mrs. Beck is an active member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and volunteers for Girl Scouts of America,  and 4-H Clubs.

It was only natural for her to pursue a position where her passions lay.  In November 2006, the Prince George's community elected Mrs. Beck as a Member of the Board of Education, where her past experiences have prepared her to be in a position to serve the children of Prince George's County Public Schools.