Donaldson was originally appointed to the position in 2010, and President Barack Obama reappointed him in August 2013 for another four-year term.

[3] Donaldson's architectural knowledge unites historic building methods and archaic materials with state-of-the-art twenty-first century construction technologies.

In 2004, before his appointment as CA SHPO, Donaldson renamed and sold his firm Heritage Architecture & Planning which is still located in San Diego.

Donaldson has also instructed classes in architecture, first at California Polytechnic State University from 1969 to 1970, and later at Southwestern Community College from 1976 to 1984.

Donaldson served as California's State Historic Preservation Officer from April 2004 until his retirement in September 2012.

Meeting four times a year, the SHRC is a nine-member state review board, appointed by the governor, responsible for identifying, registering, and preserving California's cultural heritage.