She is currently the chief executive officer of Women's Engineering Society United Kingdom.

[2] A systems engineer by education, Donnelly worked with companies such as Rolls-Royce.

She was a founding member of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s (RAeS) Women in Aviation and Aerospace Committee.

[4] In 2005, she started work with Rolls-Royce as an adviser on lobbying governments to support trade unions.

[5] In 2013, Donnelly set up her own company, Pereloquens Ltd.[1] In August 2018, Elizabeth was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the Women's Engineering Society (WES) to replace Kirsten Bodley.