Donna Wagner is a member of the Investigations, Hearing, & Appeal Services team at Grand River Solutions.

Donna has 20 years of experience as an investigator and in human resources (HR) management positions in a variety of industries including higher education, non-profit, health care, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical devices, and insurance. Donna has conducted approximately 1000 workplace investigations encompassing all matters related to employment law and corporate compliance, including Title IX ,Title VII, Title 20 of the US Education Code and have included: sexual assault and sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, discrimination, harassment (all protected classes) retaliation, workplace violence, conflicts of interest and ethics, disability and accommodation, retaliation and whistleblowers, defamation, leave of absence, wage and hour, and health and safety. Donna has investigated numerous matters with significant legal and/or public relations exposure which have been in local and national headlines. Donna has testified in depositions and trials regarding her investigations in state court and for the Medical Board of California. She has also been retained as an expert witness in federal court and has testified at deposition.

Donna has deep expertise and experience leading the mediation and resolution of single-issue and multi-issue conflicts involving two people or multi-party conflicts outside of the court system. Donna has successfully helped parties reach transformative resolutions involving interpersonal disputes, manager and staff difficulties, faculty and student conflicts, breakdowns in working relationships, allegations of harassment, sexual misconduct and bullying, and issues arising from a grievance or disciplinary procedure. Additionally, Donna has provided HR advice and counsel to senior leadership, faculty, students and staff in higher education and for global and domestic business segments in Fortune 50 companies. In this capacity, she has led organizations in the development of annual reviews, succession planning, organization structure development, job design, staffing, compensation, and organization change. Donna has also researched, developed, and conducted nation-wide in-house training sessions for managers, HR professionals, students and employees on conducting effective workplace investigations, writing effective performance evaluations and discipline and documentation and conflict resolution.

Donna has a master’s degree in human resources and labor relations, a graduate certificate in mediation and negotiation, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She also held one-year internship as a Field Examiner with the National Labor Relations Board.