The Honourable Justice Donna Hackett was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1976. After time in private practice, she joined the Crown Attorney's office in Ottawa and then Toronto as both a trial and appellate Crown. As the Senior Policy Advisor on Legal Issues for Ian Scott, the Minister responsible for women's issues, she was responsible for the design and delivery of the Ontario Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Public Education Campaigns and the Multi-cultural Family Law Education Programs. A pioneer in judicial education on equality issues, she has designed and presented numerous programs both domestically and internationally, including for the Commonwealth Judge's Association. As an Associate Director of the National Judicial Institute, she was responsible for the delivery of over 100 social context education programs for judges from all levels of courts across the country. She was a founding member of both the International Women Judge's Association and the Canadian Chapter.

Justice Hackett is the author of a number of articles in legal journals. She has sat in the criminal court in Scarborough for the last 17 years and continues to be involved in many community and legal education initiatives.