Our Story
DBU INC. was born out of both generational resilience and personal tragedy. Donna Bruce grew up witnessing her mother survive domestic violence and other traumatic experiences, shaping her understanding of strength and perseverance. She, too, became a survivor—overcoming domestic violence, human trafficking, and unimaginable hardships. But when she lost her son, Devon L. Wellington, to an overdose, she knew the cycle of trauma had to end.
With a deep commitment to breaking generational curses and ensuring that pain is not the final chapter, Donna transformed her grief into a powerful movement for healing and empowerment. She founded DBU INC. as a safe space where trauma survivors, bereaved mothers, and individuals affected by violence could reclaim their strength, find purpose through healing, and build a future rooted in resilience, leadership, and transformation.
At DBU INC., we stand with survivors and Bereaved Mothers, proving that from pain comes purpose, power, and lasting change.
Meet The Founder
About Donna Bruce and Her Work
Donna Bruce, Founder and CEO of DBU INC., is a visionary leader, Senior Stylist, author, social justice activist, and Certified Life Coach. She is a self-published author, a Community Health Worker certified by the Maryland Department of Health, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Bunting Institute, and an alumna of the Roper Victim Assistance Academy. As a twenty-five-year trauma survivor, Donna has overcome domestic violence, human trafficking, and addiction, using her experiences to advocate for trauma survivors and systemic change.
With over 30 years in the cosmetology industry, Donna has mentored aspiring stylists and served as Director of Education at local beauty schools. She is committed to trauma-informed, peer-driven behavioral health services, a dedication recognized with the Michele Dear Award from On Our Own of Maryland. More information on this award can be found here: Michele Dear Award Recognition. She also founded the Destiny’s Dream Scholarship, honoring the legacy of Destiny Harrison by supporting future cosmetologists.
As a Johns Hopkins Bunting Fellow, Donna has actively championed social justice and legislative reform, advocating for bills like the True Freedom Act and Governor Hogan’s House Bill 827. Her relentless efforts in community healing and advocacy are further recognized by a street named in memory of her late son, symbolizing her commitment to breaking generational cycles of trauma.
Donna has also played a pivotal role in the Peer Navigator Program, which helped place peer recovery specialists in Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library to support individuals facing addiction and mental health challenges. More information on this initiative is featured in WBAL-TV’s coverage: WBAL-TV Article.
Donna’s advocacy extends to national platforms, where she raises awareness about Baltimore’s overdose crisis and the urgent need for systemic change. She was also a key figure in organizing Baltimore’s Vigil of Remembrance for lives lost to violence, an emotional and powerful event that honors the lives of victims and advocates for a safer, healthier future. The vigil was highlighted by WBAL-TV: WBAL-TV Article on Vigil.
Donna’s work and life’s journey were recently highlighted by Johns Hopkins Urban Health in an article, "Bringing Light to Life’s Tribulations", where she shares her journey from trauma to triumph and her unwavering dedication to healing and empowerment: Johns Hopkins Urban Health Article.
Donna's advocacy efforts have also been featured in a PBS documentary about the overdose crisis in Baltimore, where she continues to raise awareness about community-based recovery efforts. Watch her story here: PBS Documentary.
Her advocacy for human trafficking survivors has been featured in The Baltimore Sun, where Donna highlights her work and commitment to supporting individuals who have been trafficked and providing them with the tools to heal and reclaim their lives. Read more in the article here: Baltimore Sun Article on Human Trafficking.
Donna’s life’s work is dedicated to empowering trauma survivors, bereaved mothers, and individuals affected by violence and hardship. She continues to turn pain into purpose, ensuring that healing, advocacy, and empowerment remain at the heart of everything she does.
This updated bio now incorporates the link to the Baltimore Sun article on human trafficking, ensuring Donna’s important advocacy work is highlighted. Let me know if you'd like any further adjustments! 💙
Donna Bruce, Founder and CEO of DBU INC., is a visionary leader, Sr. Stylist, author, social justice activist, and a twenty-five-year trauma survivor, including experiences of Domestic Violence and human trafficking. Raised in Baltimore City, Donna is in long-term recovery and has over a decade of experience in the peer recovery movement. She is a Certified Life Coach, Community Health Worker, and a graduate of the Roper Victim Assistance Academy.
With more than thirty years in the cosmetology industry, Donna has mentored aspiring stylists and served as Director of Education at local beauty schools. Her nonprofit provides accessible, trauma-informed, and peer-driven behavioral health services—a commitment recognized with the Michele Dear Award from On Our Own of Maryland.
As a Johns Hopkins Bunting Fellow, Donna has actively advocated for social justice through legislation such as the True Freedom Act and Governor Hogan’s House Bill 827. She also launched the Destiny’s Dream Scholarship for cosmetology students in honor of Destiny Harrison. Her dedication to healing and advocacy is further commemorated by a street named in memory of her late son, emphasizing her unwavering belief that healing is possible.
Donna also helped spearhead the Peer Navigator Program, which played a crucial role in leading to peers being hired in libraries to support individuals facing addiction and mental health challenges. More information on this initiative can be found at WBALTV.
From Struggle to Resilience
From Struggle to Resilience: An Advocate’s Journey
Published: 10/14/2024 9:55 AM
An interview with Donna Bruce by Katie Rouse
Donna Bruce, CPRS-F, RPS, RCP-F received OOOMD’s 2024 Michele Dear Advocacy Award for her outstanding work in Baltimore City as a recovery advocate and community leader. Donna is the Founder and CEO of DBU Inc. and works as a Peer Navigator supervisor within a public library system.
Thank you so much for speaking with us, and congratulations again! Would you tell us more about your journey into advocacy from lived experience and recovery?
I got into the process of recovery in 2003. I met this attorney, Jessica Emerson, through the Human Trafficking Prevention Project at the University of Baltimore School of Law. She believed in me and supported me. I would go into her office and talk about my life, and that was my first time actually understanding what human trafficking was. She taught me language and words to put around the exploitation I experienced.
One day, Jessica asked if I was ready to share my story. We wrote all these things down for my testimony in support of the True Freedom Act of 2020 [which allows human trafficking survivors to have criminal convictions related to their exploitation removed from their records].
When we got to Annapolis, she reminded me to just be myself. I was shivering, and I was nervous. But in that moment [up at the podium], I got real and authentic. After I testified, all these legislators came out from behind their desks, hugged me, and thanked me.
What did you think and feel about telling your story so publicly?
Before I went to testify, I had to call my father, who did not know the full story of what had happened to me growing up. He watched the hearing from home, and he and my stepmom were distraught, saying, “We didn’t know. If you had told us, we would have come to save you.”
At this time, I was also teaching cosmetology as the Director of Education at the Baltimore Beauty and Barber School. My students heard about my background, and they were so supportive, just like, “We love you.”
After I testified, I was on cloud nine, and then the Washington Post called me. That was my first official interview, and it rocked my world. It was shaping me for a time like this, to be the voice to speak.
Today, honestly, I don’t worry – I trust. When I open up my mouth, it doesn’t match what people expect. People think sharing your story is supposed to be sad, but it’s freedom. I’m not ashamed to talk about the things that I’ve lived through and survived. I don’t mind talking about being a human trafficking survivor.
[Sharing openly] allows others to heal. It allows others to be vulnerable. It allows others some freedom just for that moment to say, “Yeah, I’m struggling with mental health.” Really, I think sometimes the hardest first step is being able to just voice what your experience was.
How has peer support been part of your advocacy?
I became part of a coalition of women, the Maryland Survivors Network, with [national survivor advocate] Shamere McKenzie. We formed this group. We met and built bonds with other people. I was exposed to what “multiple pathways to recovery” really looked like in real life.
I worked at Baltimore County Detention Center as a Behavioral Health Associate for the Baltimore County Health Department. I met this one young lady while she was on segregation (being housed separate from others in the facility) and was about to go through some serious time. While we were talking, she shared something that happened during her breakdown that I had also experienced but never spoken about. I’ll never forget that moment because we connected so deeply.
I began to write my book [From Shadows to Strength: The Saga of Donna Bruce] because there were so many women that I saw whose faces looked like mine and stories sounded like mine. I couldn’t leave the jail [to take a mental health break] while I was working, so instead, I was typing, typing, typing all day.
You’ve explored a lot of different ways to transform pain into purpose and to find healing through creativity. How has your career as a cosmetologist enriched your recovery advocacy?
After my son passed away, I was just in a very, very, very dark place. I said, “You know what? I’m going to do a fashion show for my birthday.” The first show was in 2022. We had models from New York and designers from Atlanta. In the middle of the event, we had a panel discussion. I was just freestyling and said, “If you lost a child, come to the stage.” The stage was packed, and people were sharing and hugging each other in the audience. Then we invited the therapists in the audience to stand up, and the connection was made.
This is the reason why we do it. We’re building this whole network: the club nobody wants to be in. We’ve done shows for bereaved parents, domestic violence, gun violence. We do [creative events], because we understand that the right side of the brain has got to keep moving.
One young lady came to the fashion show after losing her son. She told me, “This is the first time that I put on clothes [since his passing] to come to the show today.” I have a model who’s also a survivor – she becomes a different person when she hits the runway. You’ll look out in the audience and you’ll see two moms just hugging each other, crying, connecting. That’s healing.
In 2020, Baltimore became the first city in the country to legislate trauma-informed care through the Elijah Cummings Healing City Act. As a member of the Trauma-Informed Care Task Force today, how do you use your lived expertise to advocate for community needs and priorities?
After the transition of my son is really when I understood what advocacy meant and the depth of actually doing it. Not too long ago, I met the man who was the last person to see Devon on the day he died. He told me about the last moments of my son’s life, how he did nothing, and began to cry. I began to cry and I said, “I forgive you, because you didn’t know what to do.” So that’s what advocacy looks like: teaching people what Narcan is and how to use it, when to use more, when to step back to call 911, and understanding the Good Samaritan law [which protects people providing assistance during a drug or alcohol overdose].
We just met with Maryland Public Television and did a documentary piece for the PBS News Hour about Baltimore having the highest rate of overdose deaths in the nation. [In so many families], we’re just like trauma, trauma, trauma, on top of trauma, and no one’s talking about it. People are passing away, and nobody’s still talking about it.
My [outreach] is to the people that are ashamed and embarrassed and don’t want to talk about stigmas and things like that. I begin to show them my scar marks and my war marks. Then I got your attention, and then I can advocate. What is it that you need? Here are the resources that we have.
You are out on the front lines, connecting and supporting peers in the library, through events, and in community on the streets. What inspires you to get up every day and keep going?
Advocacy is boots on the ground, not discriminating. I don’t care what you smell like. I don’t care what you look like. When you truly understand, this work is not a heavy lift, and it’s not for yourself. It’s feeling something else moving through you.
My granddaughter Cassidy is my successor. She goes out with me, talking with people, handing out Narcan, feeding people. She’s watching and learning. The cycle has been broken.
In 2024, the section of Etting Street where Donna’s son lost his life was renamed Devon Wellington Way in his memory. Learn more about Donna’s journey and community work at dbuinc.org.
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