Donna L. Lucas is the chief executive officer and founder of Lucas Public Affairs (LPA), an agency that counsels clients across a wide swath of sectors, including energy, environment, health care, higher education, technology, tourism, transportation and related foundations, nonprofits and state agencies. The firm specializes in strategic, corporate and crisis communications to support its clients’ public policy objectives.
For Lucas, opening LPA in 2006 is the latest chapter of a 30-year career that includes senior executive positions in the public and private sectors.
She served as deputy chief of staff for strategic planning and initiatives for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and chief of staff to First Lady Maria Shriver.
Lucas also served as deputy press secretary for Governor George Deukmejian, deputy treasurer for state Treasurer Tom Hayes and California press secretary for the 1988 presidential campaign of then-Vice President George H.W. Bush.
She was the global and public affairs practice leader for Porter Novelli, an international public relations firm, after Porter Novelli acquired Nelson Communications Group, where she served as president and chief executive officer for several years.
In 2021, Lucas was the chair of the California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, where she has served as a director since 2012.
She served on the Public Policy Institute of California Board of Directors from 2007 to 2019, chairing the board from 2013 to 2016. She also serves on the boards of the John Burton Advocates for Youth, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Maria Shriver’s Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement. She is chair of the College Futures Foundation and is a director for Five Star Bank (FSBC).
Lucas is a founding member of She Shares, a conversation series featuring women leaders who have created a lasting impact on women in California and beyond. She routinely is named among the top 100 unelected influencers in the State Capitol community. In 2018, the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce named her Sacramento Businesswoman of the Year.
She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California.
Lucas lives in Sacramento and is married to Greg Lucas, California’s State Librarian.