Mrs. McDonald grew up and lived in New York City until she and her husband, David, became full time residents of Palm Beach four years ago. She attended Cornell University and the London School of Economics with a degree in urban planning and economics. After graduating from Cornell, Mrs. McDonald worked in the fashion business for Ralph Lauren Men’s and Women’s Wear and Anne Klein II. At Parson’s School of Design she earned a graduate degree in interior design and founded her own residential interior design firm, which she ran for 15 years. She began a second career following that in education, as head of admissions for St. Thomas More, a Manhattan nursery school. The McDonalds bought an apartment in Palm Beach ten years ago, where Mrs. McDonald became head of the Lake Towers condominium board and oversaw one of the first private underground utility projects in the town.  She went on to join the Town’s Underground Utility Task Force for two terms and was very active with resident’s and easement acquisitions. She is currently an alternate member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, and a member of the Strategic Planning Commission for the town. She is a Director of the Civic Association serving on the Healthcare Committee, a member of the Preservation Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce, the Kravis Center, and the Norton Museum. Mrs. McDonald has served on the Board of the Gunnery School and of the Vanderbilt University Parents Board, and as a Cornell University Admissions Ambassador. In addition, while in New York, she chaired annual benefits for both the Museum of Natural History and the Cooper Hewitt. The McDonalds have three grown children.