A passionate supporter of Israel with decades of experience in fundraising for others, Donna Sternberg helped raise almost half a million dollars in aid to help her own community recover from Hurricane Katrina. Sternberg graduated from the University of Texas before training at the Columbia School of International Affairs. She got her start in business in 1967, when she married, moved to Baton Rouge, and began working in her husband’s family business, Goudchaux’s department store, as a merchandise manager. In 1982 the couple acquired the Maison Blanche chain of department stores and Sternberg served as vice president. She then created a new business with her husband, Starmount Life Insurance, and served as owner and executive vice president until 2016, after which she and her husband began a human resources company, HighFlyer, that she continues to manage as of 2024. Sternberg has been active in numerous political campaigns, including those of President Ronald Reagan, President George Bush, and Senator Mary Landrieu. Alongside this dedication to politics and her career, Sternberg has been a longtime supporter of Israel. She and her husband founded the Greater Baton Rouge chapter of the Jewish Federation soon after the Six-Day War and became active in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), serving on AIPAC’s national board since 1996. After Katrina, Sternberg used her connections to mobilize aid from across the country and help local leaders offer funds, supplies, and counseling to survivors. In 2024, she and her husband set up a scholarship fund at Princeton.