Donna grew up in Eastbourne leaving in 1988 to go to university to study marine biology. After gaining her degree she made the obvious career choice and went on to manage snooker halls across the south east. Once she had mastered the art of brushing and ironing green baize, she opted for change of careers and went to work with young offenders at Feltham Young Offenders for a few years before moving on to the National Children’s Home. It was these two roles that led her back to university where she studied to be a social worker qualifying in 2000. Donna has stayed with the world of Adult Social Care since working across many different teams. It was in 2006 Donna that returned to Eastbourne so her sons could grow up by the sea. 

Donna had no idea that the Pavilion existed until she parked outside of it one day when dropping her dog off to get a haircut over the road. A few days later she made her first trip there to see a film and fell in love with the little cinema. It was not long before she joined as a HOPS member and shortly after became a regular volunteer at the cinema.