DONNA Todd is the outspoken woman who is at the helm of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL) – the home of the ‘Guyana Chronicle’ newspaper – as the Administrative Manager and acting General Manager.

The story of Donna Todd begins in Charity on the Essequibo Coast, where she was born and spent most of her younger years. Her parents were Bridget and Ralph Vansluytman and she was the eldest of six children.

Her father was a simple man who worked his way up- he was a bookkeeper, then a manager and eventually became the Junior Minister of Agriculture. Like her father, Todd evolved from humble beginnings to her current position- and thirsts for more.
Her pursuits began at the Charity Primary School and her secondary education was completed at the Charlestown High School. But it wasn’t until she did a post-secondary education course at the Kuru Kuru College did she realise who she was, and the journey life would take her on. There, she completed a Certificate in Cooperative Management.
“That has played a major role for me and cooperative movement in Guyana,” she said.

Todd has been serving on the board of the Clerical and Commercial Workers’ (CCW) Credit Union for about 20 years, she has been the secretary of the Guyana Co-operative Credit Union League since 2013, and she is also a member of the Interim Management Committee of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) Credit Union.

In 1975, she was working at the Linden Cooperative Consumers complex and it was suggested to her that she join the union.
“When I was approached to be a member of the union, at the first meeting I was advised to become the shop steward [of the union]. Since then, there was no turning back,” Todd said.
Her positions in the various unions have afforded her the opportunity to travel around the world, to represent the country and to bring back information that would develop the country’s trade and credit unions.

She also did a few programmes at the Critchlow Labour College and an ordinary Diploma in Commerce at the Government Technical Institute (GTI). Todd then got involved in auditing, at which time she also decided to pursue her first degree- a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and then a Postgraduate Degree in Development Studies.

You could say that during her formative years she deeply invested in her education, but to this day she continues her academic pursuits. In fact, a few months ago she acquired her Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA). And soon enough, she will either venture off to pursue her Doctorate in Business Studies or a Degree in Law.

This woman bears a wealth of knowledge and experience and affirmed, “I’m a competent leader and a competent communicator.”
She explained that her leadership qualities stem from her “people skills”. Through the positions she has held over the years, it was only natural that she developed good interpersonal skills.

But that doesn’t mean that she is without fault. “I try to ensure that everyone is treated equally on the job,” the manager highlighted, but also noted that in so doing, her strong personality might get the best of her. “Sometimes I may be outspoken and that may be one of my downfalls,” Todd related. “I’m not rude, but I can be outspoken.”
She also sees herself as a ‘fixer’. “In any issue, if I see a worker is being discriminated against I will voice my opinion, even though the worker might not be a part of my department and that could be a downfall for me,” Donna shared.
Nevertheless, she has a goal-oriented mindset that comes in handy especially in her current position.

Todd joined the GNNL last June, as the Administrative Manager, but later assumed the position of acting General Manager.

Now as the acting GM, the pressure is really on her. She explained that during her normal working hours (i.e. the usual 08:00hrs to 17:00hrs), she has to do all of the work required of a GM-you know, making all of those big decisions and interfacing with dozens of people to ensure that the daily operations of the company continue efficiently.
That workload can sometimes be so much that she is unable to focus on the administrative duties, and as such, would work most days beyond that time to get her work done.

Naturally, this has been taking a toll on her social and family life but she related that she has a very supportive family, that understands that she is working to develop the company.

But as a devout Christian, she said: “I try not to get too overwhelmed with one aspect of the [job], so I pray and I offer the organisation up in prayers every morning.”
Just before arriving at the doorstep of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL), she had worked as a Programme Officer at the Ministry of Public Security. During her time there, she especially learnt the value of maintaining that goal-oriented mindset.

And as such, she shared that: “In order for you to be a manager you need to ensure that you have those attributes, so that you would be able to guide the organisation towards achieving its goal…In everything, you might find challenges, but the objective [of the organisation] must always be achieved and as long as you realise that you’re achieving the objective, you will always keep focused.”