Donna Provencher, from Bourne, Texas is a professional writer and journalist, an actor and director, and an avid advocate for disability awareness and inclusion in the arts. She makes a habit of casting talented neurodivergent individuals with autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental disabilities in production leadership roles in her plays, as well as recommending cast members to other central Texas theater productions.

As an autistic artist, Donna has learned to turn difference into discipline. The traits often described clinically — deep focus, heightened pattern recognition, an intolerance for artifice, a strong internal sense of fairness — have also made her a sharper director, a clearer communicator, and a more reliable collaborator. Like many professionals with disabilities, part of her work has always been

invisible: learning how to translate between different communication styles, managing sensory and social demands and continuing to lead and produce at a high level in spaces that are not always designed with neurodivergent people in mind. That experience has not made her fragile. It has made her precise.

She also brings her personal experience to her works as a journalist. Since 2017, she has worked in various content creation and editorial roles at the San Antonio Business Journal, San Antonio Express News, and Kerrville Daily Times, to name just a few. Most recently her social media postings offer a wealth of information regarding inclusion and an individual’s civil rights.

Donna seems to be unstoppable in her drive to create a better world for all people. For her indomitable spirit, creative drive, inclusive attitude, and selfless commitment to helping others who are coming up behind her, Donna Provencher is the 2026 Haven Street-Allen Artist of the Year