A native South Carolinian, Donovan was a first-generation college graduate from Wofford College in Government and Finance, where he was named a Truman, Gates Millennium, and Bonner Scholar. There, Donovan served as Student Body Vice President, created a mentoring organization that paired first-generation college students with mentors at his alma mater high school, served the low-income community through his work at the South Carolina Legal Services, and won several awards for his academic achievements and campus leadership. As a Mitchell Scholar, Donovan obtained an M.Phil. in Race, Ethnicity, and Conflict at Trinity College Dublin. Afterward, he earned his law degree from Stanford Law. He served on the Stanford Law Review, receiving its highest editorial excellence award.

After law school, Donovan completed two federal clerkships—one at the United States Court of Appeals and one at the United States District Court, both in the District of Columbia. Donovan is continually interested in serving low-income communities, given the policy expertise he formed during his work at the Center for American Progress and the Georgetown Center on Poverty for Law and Inequality.