Meet Alicia

Hello, I’m Alicia Donahue. I am a wife, stepmom, and master’s level licensed clinical social worker. I am running for Minnesota State Senate here in District 54 because I believe that every problem we face in Minnesota can be solved if we work together. 

On a cold night in December, my mother drove herself to the hospital while in labor with me.  She raised me by herself for nearly the first decade of my life before marrying my step-dad and giving birth to my sister and brother. My mother is the hardest working person I know. Despite this, being a single parent is hard and we faced many challenges together. I know the struggles that many of our community members are facing because I’ve lived them. I know the way our safety net programs can support children to ensure they have a solid foundation to grow from because they did that for me. 

Like many young people, I struggled to find my way in school. During high school, I turned to my school counselor for support. She saw something in me that I couldn’t see in myself and encouraged me to pursue a college education. I graduated from St. Louis Park High School and went on to the University of Minnesota for my bachelors degree. Thanks to the support I had along the way, I continued on becoming the first master’s level graduate in my family, earning my master’s in social work. My experience has shown me the importance our teachers and school counselors have on the lives and futures of our children.

As a third generation Minnesotan, I could not think of a better place to live and raise a family. My husband and I met, fell in love and got married. We moved to Shakopee several years ago with my stepson. I care deeply about our community. In fact it is why I’ve spent the last 18 years working with our neighbors when they needed support the most. Throughout my years in social services I served adults and children experiencing homelessness, violence in the home, incarceration, mental illness and chemical dependency. I spent over half a decade working for the State of Minnesota protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities before finding my way to my current role as a supervisor in child protection. 

When our nation was facing leaders and policies that tried to divide us, I stepped up and became the co-founder of Women’s March Minnesota. I provided leadership to our team of volunteers as we brought 100,000+ Minnesotans together on January 21, 2017 in what would become the largest peaceful single day protest in our state’s history. From that moment forward, I saw the power organizing and giving people hope had in creating a brighter future. 

Today we are again at a point where our elected leaders and policies are trying to divide us. I know our community is tired of “politics as usual.” Minnesotans deserve leaders who are more interested in people than they are in power; we deserve courageous leaders and we deserve elected officials who will engage in conversations to reach a common goal. 

I look forward to meeting you, hearing what keeps you up at night and sharing in your vision for a brighter future. Let’s build a stronger community together! 

Alicia and her mom

Alicia with Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart and Sen. Erin Murphy at a fundraising event in 54

A crew of volunteers and door knockers

Alicia in front of the State Seal and American Flag