Jenn Donaldson
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, to an architect father and a ski-instructor mother, Jenn was fortunate to escape to Vermont to ski from the time she could walk. When her parents separated, she moved with her mother to the Mount Washington Valley and split her time between the mountains of New Hampshire and Washington, D.C., where her father spent most of his career—enjoying the best of both worlds.
Jenn attended St. Timothy’s School, an all-girls boarding school outside Baltimore, to be closer to her father. There, she was introduced to Outward Bound and met an alumna who owned a Colorado rafting company. That encounter proved life-changing when the owner offered to mentor Jenn as a river runner at age seventeen, introducing her to outdoor exploration, rafting, kayaking, mountaineering, and backcountry skiing—experiences that became the backbone of her identity.
Following the seasons—skiing all winter and guiding rafts all summer—Jenn attended UC Boulder before transferring to Sierra Nevada College in Tahoe, where she studied English and ceramics while backpacking and volunteering across Southeast Asia, Nepal, Africa, and Europe. She eventually returned home to pursue traditional midwifery in Maine. After completing her studies at Birthwise Midwifery School in Bridgton, Jenn chose nursing school over an apprenticeship to focus on whole-community health across the lifespan, graduating from the White Mountains Community College School of Nursing in 2001.
As a registered nurse, Jenn spent the next 20 years specializing in labor and delivery, advocating for women’s health and assisting at hundreds of births. She has always cherished working in small rural hospitals, where she has had the privilege of caring for community members across all ages.
Alongside her late husband, Jenn raised a family, co-owned a burrito shop, traveled with their young children, and co-founded a Waldorf-based playschool on their farm, deeply rooting their sense of community in Maine. As life evolved, Jenn began working at a local girls’ camp—where her own children spent memorable summers—and joined the Western Maine Mountain Clinic at Sunday River, bringing her journey full circle as her family spends time skiing together.
Jenn comes to Summit Achievement as the mother of three daughters, bringing first-hand experience with the challenges and joys of raising resilient young adults. She firmly believes that spending time in nature in all conditions—embracing sunny days and navigating challenging ones—catalyzes growth, reflection, and self-development. Jenn is thrilled to join Summit Achievement’s dedicated, supportive, and diverse team, viewing her work there as a meaningful continuation of her life’s journey. Outside of work, she enjoys coastal camping, curating vintage clothing, traveling with her daughters, uphill skiing, gardening, attending live music events, and relaxing in a sauna.