Indiana 250: Donna Walker

Donna Walker is president and CEO of Hoosier Energy, a not-for-profit power-generation and power-transmission cooperative providing wholesale electric service to 18 member distribution cooperatives in central and southern Indiana and southeastern Illinois.

Walker joined the organization in 1995 and progressed to senior-level positions, including executive vice president and chief financial officer. In 2018, she was named president and CEO. She is a certified public accountant and previously worked as a business assurance manager for Coopers & Lybrand LLP in Indianapolis.

Hobbies

I started running about 10 years ago. I first walked the Indy Mini with my sister and found a real admiration for the runners around me. When I mentioned to my oldest son that I wished I was a runner, he encouraged me to try.

When I started, my goal was to run one mile. One mile led to another and then another. I’ve now run more than 30 half-marathons, three marathons and one ultra-marathon. I’m currently working on running a half-marathon in all 50 states.

Each race proves to be a literal reminder to me that our wildest dreams can be accomplished if we have the courage to take that first step!

Recent reads

“Today We Die a Little” by Richard Askwith

Advice for young people

The best advice I can give would be to view rejection as “not the right time for you, yet” rather than a judgment on your abilities. Believing in the power of “yet” is key to being able to view challenges as ways to grow. It can transform not only the way we look at our mistakes, but others’ as well.

Favorite civic contribution

I’ve been extremely fortunate to have spent the last 26 years of my career working at a [not-for-profit], member-owned electric cooperative. Among our seven cooperative principles is “concern for community.” Each decision we make is focused on what we can do to make the communities we serve successful and thrive. I grew up in one of those very communities, and it is beyond rewarding to still be able to give back in this way each day.

Worries about

I worry about the level of animosity that seems to permeate discussions in society today. Listening to and acknowledging other points of view are critical for truly effective communication, with which we as a society appear to be struggling.

One of my favorite quotes is: “The core of forgiveness is seeing both sides and, moreover, allowing both versions of an event to coexist” [from “Found: A Daughter’s Journey Home” by Tatum O’Neal]. I think this mindset provides a firm foundation to respectfully move forward from the point of disagreement we may have with others.•