Donna Jean Lindquist

Senior Vice President

Director, Communications

Donna Jean Lindquist is a senior vice president and director of communications for the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR). In this role, she develops and executes intra-corporate and public-facing communications strategies; media relations plans; brand management; and—of particular focus—authentic engagements with IIR teammates, partners and stakeholders, clients and funders, and practitioners IIR supports in the field. She is skilled in collaborative solutions to national criminal justice priorities; project management; large, national-scale event development and execution, including facilitation; and drafting national policy papers, talking points, briefing packages, and outreach and informational materials. Ms. Lindquist is fully invested in the fundamental belief that the strength of IIR is its people, and she prioritizes mentoring colleagues in their professional development.

Previously, Ms. Lindquist was director of IIR’s Center for Victim Services and Support (VSS) Initiatives, which includes the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) National Violence Against Women Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance Consortium (LETTAC) and the OVW Improving Criminal Justice Responses (ICJR) Administration and Training and Technical Assistance Coordination Project. Her responsibilities included partnership building and stakeholder communication; leading the development, maintenance, and ongoing refinement of the LETTAC Program; assembling subject-matter experts, trainers, and technical assistance providers to support law enforcement and other justice professionals addressing (and demanding accountability for) gender-based violence and crimes against women in a trauma-informed, victim-centered manner; expanding the knowledge base of evidence-based strategies, resources, and approaches available to the field; and facilitating support for ICJR grant recipients.

In her 30 years at IIR, Ms. Lindquist has supported a wide range of programs including the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP); the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) National Gang Center; the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative/Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Attorney General; the Office of Justice Programs Information Technology initiatives; and the BJA Organized Crime Narcotics Task Force Multiagency Response Training Program. These roles emphasized her skills in project management, communications, intergovernmental and multidisciplinary team building, training and event support, and research and analysis.

In 2015, the Executive Board of the National Fusion Center Association (NFCA) selected Ms. Lindquist to serve as its communications director, with primary responsibility for the coordination, management, and execution of the NFCA Annual Training Event. During her two-year tenure in the post, this meeting attracted more than 800 fusion center and intelligence personnel, intelligence dignitaries, government partners, and private industry sponsors each year.

Ms. Lindquist’s experience outside of IIR includes writing, public relations, and teaching positions in the private and public sectors. She holds a master of science degree in marketing communication and a bachelor of science degree in English education, summa cum laude, both from Florida State University.