By Emily Casewell
View Newspaper Brand Manager
LAKE ORION — While she’s been on the job less than a month, Joyce Donaldson, the new President and CEO of the Orion Area Chamber of Commerce, has been busy developing new event ideas, focusing on strategic partnerships and connecting with community leaders.
That’s because while she’s new in this role, Donaldson is not new to the work of chambers and brings 18 years of professional chamber leadership experience into her role at the Orion Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I love serving the community, and I love helping small businesses,” said Donaldson, who began her chamber career at the Romeo-Washington Chamber of Commerce in Michigan. She served as executive director for nearly seven years before moving to the Coachella Valley in California.
While there she served as the President and CEO of the Indio Chamber of Commerce for five years and achieved Four-Star Accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce following three years of aggressive development and implementation of an all-inclusive strategic plan. Surpassing national industry best practices, the Accreditation recognition placed the Indio Chamber in the top three percent nationwide — one of 150 out of nearly 7,000 Chambers in the country.
Most recently, she served as the President and CEO of the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce for five years and then as Chief Operating Officer of the newly-merged Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber, from Goleta to Carpinteria.
Donaldson holds an associate degree from Macomb Community College and throughout her career, she has continued her professional education to stay abreast of current chamber trends and best practices. She is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organization Management (IOM) and a graduate of the California Western Association of Chamber Executive Academy. She is also a graduate of both Leadership Macomb, Mich. and Leadership Coachella Valley, Cali. programs.
Donaldson is proud of her proven history of enhancing operations, bolstering financial stability, heightening visibility and strengthening community and government relationships. She looks forward to utilizing her skill set to bring even greater growth and prosperity to the Orion community in the future.
“I really want to bring accessibility to local and regional state and federal officials,” said Donaldson, who is planning a State of the City event.
She said another one of her main objectives is to focus on partnerships and collaboration while building on the chamber’s current strengths. One way she’s already doing that is by planning an International Women’s Day Women in Business event set for March 8 that expands upon the already popular Women in Business Conference. Details are still in the works, but Donaldson said the event made sense thanks to the strength and energy of the Orion Women Leaders (OWLs) group already in place.
Originally from Shelby Township, Donaldson raised her family in Washington Township before following her two sons to the West Coast 15 years ago.
“I’m all about community,” said Donaldson, who added that she was honored and excited to accept the leadership position at the Orion Area Chamber and once again be near her family and life-long friends, many of whom live and work in Lake Orion and nearby communities.
“We are very excited to welcome Joyce, and anticipate the Chamber to continue to thrive under her leadership,” said Garrett Hoffman, president, Orion Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.