Danialle Karmanos believes in the power of storytelling.

She believes effective storytelling can inform and explain. Done well, she will tell you, storytelling also can empathize, excite and inspire.

And, in the right environment, with the best tools in the right hands, storytelling can stimulate learning and transform education.

So, it’s no wonder she is putting money behind her beliefs in guiding a $2 million gift for Detroit Country Day School to take a giant technological leap to advance storytelling through filmmaking, podcasting, digital content creation — and more.

“At Country Day, we have a phenomenal arts program,” said Karmanos, a member of the school’s board of trustees and a mother of two sons at the school.

She said the $2 million gift she and her husband, Peter Karmanos Jr., made adds another dimension to the school.

Peter — one of Michigan’s most successful business leaders — is a founder and former chief executive of software company Compuware Corp. and is the former owner of the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team.

Danialle Karmanos said students and faculty at Country Day “are creating really meaningful works of art, and that includes telling stories.

“Now, let’s create something amazing for the next school year.”

Originally hoped to be fully operational when students returned from summer break, a state-of-the-art center packed with Hollywood-style tools and technology is planned to open later this year. After finetuning the acoustics and design, construction began in August.

In converting existing space at Country Day’s Upper School campus in Beverly Hills, school officials say they will inaugurate a new era of creativity and opportunity for some 1,500 students and more than 300 faculty and staff.

“This is a high-tech, first-in-class initiative to produce innovative learning and teaching,” said Rich Demsey, head of school for Country Day. “We have an extraordinary arts program already and this is a game-changer.”

In announcing the new center, school officials said it will include:

• A stagecraft LED wall to create virtual scenes and “transport actors anywhere in the world — the same tool used to shoot the ‘Star Wars Mandalorian’ series.”

• An immersive podcast studio where “stories of history, literature and science will come to life.”

• A video and multimedia creation space for students to “master the tools of the digital age in a hands-on, real-world studio.”

For Karmanos, the donation adds another chapter to her long-standing association with film, arts and storytelling. As a student at Wayne State University, she was an intern at WDIV-TV, learning the ropes of news writing, video production and direction. That led to auto industry positions that ranged from producing and directing car reveals for the North American International Auto Show to co-producing and directing video stories about the global auto industry.

For a decade, she was a key player in the Detroit auto show’s highly successful charity previews.

“I loved it,” she said.

These days, she said, she divides her time as a “philanthropist, mom and wife.”

Demsey said the Karmanos gift will enhance both the learning and teaching environment at Country Day, where there is a special emphasis on academics, athletics and the arts. Country Day students won more than 160 awards last year in arts competitions, he said.

Among early enthusiasts for the new studio is rising senior Brendan O’Callaghan, who said he enrolled at Country Day to pursue his interest in filmmaking.

“I’m super excited about all the new equipment — lighting, sound, and more,” he said. “Every part of production is getting an insane upgrade. I can’t wait to learn how to make the most of professional-grade equipment.

“It’s like Christmas times 100.”

Karmanos said a goal is for the studio to energize both students and faculty to generate ever-ambitious storytelling.

“This is part of the future of teaching,” she said.

Demsey added that the gift and studio will “move the arts forward” — a result of the confluence of the right place, the right people and the right vision.