Donald Friedlich is leading figure in contemporary American jewelry and served a term as President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). His jewelry has been shown in museums all over the world and is in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and many others. 

In 2016 Friedlich joined the Board of Directors of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+), which provides grants to craft artists in need. In 2017 he received an award from SNAG in recognition of his extraordinary service to the organization and the field.