r. Donna Beegle inspires and educates individuals, organizations, politicians and entire communities with proven models to better outcomes for people in poverty. Born into a migrant labor family and married at 15, Dr. Beegle is the only member of her family who has not been incarcerated. By age 25, she earned her GED and then, within 10 years, received her doctorate in Educational Leadership. She is an au- thentic voice from poverty that speaks, writes and trains across the nation to break the iron cage of poverty for others through services provided by her company, Communication Across Barriers (CAB). For more than 25 years, she has traveled throughout hundreds of cities in 47 states and four coun- tries to assist professionals with proven strategies for breaking poverty barriers. State agencies, poli- ticians and other organizations have partnered with her to implement community-wide approaches to improving outcomes for citizens in poverty.

Dr. Beegle’s inspiring story of moving from 28 years of homelessness to achieving a doctorate and her groundbreaking work assisting people to move out of poverty has been featured on the internet, in newspapers, and on television around the nation. She is presently completing a PBS documentary with award-winning producer, George Rivera and was featured on CNN in The Other America seg- ment. Dr. Beegle has received numerous awards (i.e. National Speaker of the year for the New Mexi- co Bar Foundation and the Oregon Ethics in Business award). In 2013 Donna was named Woman of Influence by the Portland Business Journal and received the Orchid Award which honors women who are compelling, affect change and represent their positions with strength, wisdom and grace.