Founding Board Director
TAFT Foundation
Dr. Donnell “Don” Wilkins, Ed.D. | Founding Board Director
Dr. Donnell “Don” Wilkins is an educational leadership executive, organizational strategist, author, and leadership development consultant with more than 15 years of experience developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and building systems that support sustainable growth and impact.
As the Founder and Lead Consultant of Transformation 180, LLC, Dr. Wilkins partners with schools and organizations to strengthen leadership capacity, organizational alignment, employee retention, professional learning, and organizational systems. His work is grounded in helping leaders translate vision into practical structures, develop people, and create cultures where individuals and organizations can thrive.
Throughout his career, Dr. Wilkins has served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, network professional learning leader, and executive consultant across Chicago, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh. His leadership experience includes school turnaround, leadership development, organizational transformation, and working with diverse stakeholders to improve outcomes.
He is also the author of Barriers to Breakthrough: 13 Strategies for Effective Leadership in the Multi-Generational Workplace and host of the Barriers to Breakthrough Leadership Speaker Series. His work has been recognized through Black Excellence in Education from the State of Black Learning and Top 40 Under 40 in Business by Business Elite Awards, and has been featured by WPXI-TV and Pittsburgh City Paper.
Dr. Wilkins holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Point Park University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from National Louis University. As a member of the TAFT Foundation Corp. Board of Directors, he brings a practical, systems-oriented leadership perspective focused on organizational effectiveness, leadership development, and meaningful community impact.
