Donnell Probst serves as Executive Director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), the leading voice for media literacy in the United States. Since joining NAMLE in 2014, Donnell has led the organization’s transformation by building the systems, processes, and infrastructure needed to scale from a volunteer-driven network to a nationally recognized nonprofit. In early 2025, she was named Interim Executive Director and subsequently became NAMLE’s second Executive Director. She now leads the organization’s strategic, operational, and financial management, as well as its national partnerships and initiatives advancing media literacy education across sectors.
Before entering the media literacy field, Donnell worked for nearly a decade as a special education advocate and parent educator, and later as a reference and instruction librarian at a rural community college. A graduate of Missouri’s Developmental Disabilities Council Partners in Policymaking program, she has served as staff, volunteer, and advisor to numerous state and regional disability and special education advocacy organizations, including the St. Louis Special School District and Missouri’s Parent Training Information Center.
Donnell holds a B.A. in Media Studies from Arizona State University and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from San José State University. She is also the parent of an outstanding human with a disability, whose experiences continue to inform her commitment to equity, access, and inclusion in education and media. Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Donnell now lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband, Tim, and has three amazing kids and two rescue beagles, Hans and Franz.