"The 2021 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, Donnie teaches fifth grade Lexington, Kentucky. After graduating from Asbury College and earning his master’s from Auburn, he has been teaching since 2007. Donnie specializes in using technology to promote student inquiry, learning, and engagement. Over the past fourteen years of teaching, these interests have given him the unique chance to represent Kentucky around the world. Donnie was the recipient of a National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship to Antarctica, and he also represents Kentucky on the inaugural National Geographic Education Teacher Advisory Council. He is the North American lead for the Google Earth Education Experts Network.

Donnie has been invited to keynote and present at schools in thirty-three states and on four continents. In 2017, he co-authored The Google Cardboard Book: Explore, Engage, and Educate with Virtual Reality based on virtual experiences he created for his students. The Bluegrass always calls him home, however, as he regularly leads professional development at school districts around the state. Donnie lives in Lexington with his wife and three children."