Meet the Founder: Rose Donato

Before Willow B’s Rescue Farm existed, before there was a sanctuary, a nonprofit, or a mission, there was a woman trying to survive her own life. After the end of her marriage, Rose Donato didn’t just lose a relationship. She lost her sense of ground. Depression crept in quietly, then all at once. Days blurred. Nights stretched long and heavy. And then came the loss that broke something open. One of her dogs went missing. A small dog named Zoie that she loved fiercely. This was the worst pain she could bear. She searched everywhere. She waited. She hoped. But that dog never came home. There was no closure. No goodbye. Just an unanswered absence that echoed through her life. A silence so loud it hurt to breathe. In those moments, Rose didn’t feel strong. She felt shattered. What kept her here wasn’t a miracle. It was movement. It was discipline. And it was the animals' love who stayed when she wasn’t sure she could.

Fitness became a lifeline, not a goal, not an aesthetic, but a matter of survival. Getting up. Moving forward. One breath, one step, one choice at a time. The structure gave her something solid when everything else felt like it was falling apart. Her dogs, she had remaining, quiet, loyal, loving, and present, held her together without words. They didn’t ask her to explain her grief. They didn’t rush her healing. They just loved. Their presence and love helped ease the pain. That kind of love changes you. Because fitness helped save her life, Rose made a decision that would shape everything that followed: If this could help me survive, I would use it to help others do the same.

After her divorce, Rose gave up a 15-year banking and real estate career. She earned her first fitness certification to pursue a professional fitness training career. She accomplished this not to chase a title, but to serve. Her work was never just about the physical. From the beginning, she focused on what lies beneath: the mental, emotional, and spiritual foundations on which true health is built. She believes this with conviction: health must be healed on the inside first. The physical body follows. To challenge the deeply rooted myth that strength requires cruelty, Rose stepped onto one of the most visible stages possible and competed in Ms. Universe, to proudly showcase being one of the only vegans competing on the stage at the time. She didn’t do it for validation. She did it to prove a truth with her own body. A truth that you don’t need to eat animals to be strong. That compassion and discipline can coexist. That power does not have to come at the cost of another life.

Only after that chapter did Rose take another leap, one that required everything she had. She moved alone, nearly 3,000 miles from her home in Palm Beach County, FL, to Los Angeles, California, not knowing a single person. No connections. No shortcuts. No safety net. Hollywood was intimidating. Unforgiving. And nothing came easily. Rose worked as a nutrition and fitness coach in the entertainment industry, often putting herself far outside her comfort zone. She was teaching, training, auditioning, and showing up day after day without guarantees. She worked long hours, hustled relentlessly, and pushed through fear, rejection, and exhaustion. There were moments she questioned herself. Moments she felt invisible. Moments she had to decide again and again, not to quit. None of it was easy. But she stayed. Willow B stayed with her. Rose taught individuals, including celebrities, how to live healthier vegan lifestyles. She professed this was not just to change bodies, but to influence minds and reach wider audiences with a message rooted in compassion and integrity.

Even as her career grew, animals remained her anchor. From childhood, Rose had always been drawn to animals. Animals always helped alleviate Rose's emotional and mental pain. Rose is an empath who always felt a tremendous connection to nature and animals. Therefore, she always felt that she had to do something to help the vulnerable. The animals that were injured, abandoned, and forgotten. Helping animals wasn’t a choice; it was instinct. That instinct became a lifetime of action: hands-on rescue, volunteer work, animal behavior certifications, a dog-walking business, a pet boutique, and over 32 years as a vegan animal rights activist. She has even assisted numerous organizations in bettering the laws for animal welfare. Animals were never separate from her healing. They were part of it. Today, with over 16 years in the health and fitness industry, Rose is a published wellness author, certified life coach, certified master fitness trainer, certified nutrition coach, and owner of a community-centered fitness facility in Apollo Beach, Florida. She works with everyone, including children, seniors, athletes, and veterans. She is helping people change their entire lives. With Rose, together they rebuild. Rebuild not just their bodies, but their sense of worth, resilience, and hope. That lifelong journey led to Willow B’s Rescue Farm.

The farm is named in honor of Willow B., a small rescue dog with an impossibly big heart who helped Rose survive when she wasn’t sure she wanted to. The farm exists for the animals who were never chosen. For the ones who were lost. For the ones still waiting. It is a place where animals are safe, seen, and valued. Where people come to heal from the inside out. Where loss is honored, and love is given a second chance. This is not just Rose’s work. It is her promise: to Willow, to Zoie, the dog she never found, to the animals who saved her, and to every being still waiting to be seen. Founder Rose Donato brings unmatched heart, experience, and credibility to this mission.

• 16+ years as a health and fitness professional • Serial entrepreneur

• Certified physical fitness trainer

• Published health and wellness author

• Owner of a successful fitness center

• 25+ years of animal rescue and advocacy

• Certified life coach Specializing in emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing

• Certified Whole Food plant-based Nutrition Coach

• Raw and Whole Food Plant-based certified culinary

• Ms Universe Competitor

Willow B’s Rescue Farm is the culmination of her life’s journey, where she brings together her passion for healing animals and people.