Joseph M. Donovan assists clients in areas such as higher education, clean energy, and defense in Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough's Boston office. Mr. Donovan is involved with federal and state initiatives and interacts regularly with Congressional staff (Massachusetts and Washington) as well as state officials. He focuses on funding and business development efforts for clients and helps identify and secure public and private sector partners for financing opportunities.

Mr. Donovan is a frequent speaker and guest columnist on sectors that impact the Massachusetts and New England economy.  He is a member of the Small Business Association of New England, New England Council, Associated Industries of Massachusetts, and New England Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association. 

He formerly served as Vice President for WolfBlock Public Strategies, LLC. Before that, he served as Director of Communications for the Executive Office of Economic Development in the Romney administration and provided counsel to four secretariats and 17 agencies and offices. Mr. Donovan was closely involved with the development of policies and programs affecting every area of economic development across Massachusetts. He was involved in the reform of the state's commercial permitting process, development of a $100 million job creation infrastructure fund, clean energy policy initiatives, the successful Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, a $23 million Nanotechnology Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and major job creation efforts such as the Bristol Myers Squibb biomanufacturing facility at Devens.

Prior to public service, Mr. Donovan was a public relations executive with two Boston-based strategic communications firms and also ran his own independent communications practice. He represented Fortune 1000 firms, academic institutions, and businesses in technology, telecommunications, and energy.

Mr. Donovan is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. In 2003, Mr. Donovan received the Distinguished Outreach Partnership Award from UMass Amherst.