During her ten years working in the fields of academia and social work, Dana has served as a Social Worker for the Adolescent Sibling Pregnancy Prevention Program, Coordinator for the Independent Living Program of San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services, Director of the Independent Living Skills Program with YMCA Youth and Family Services in San Diego, Coordinator of the STAR (Successful Transitions for Adult Readiness) Interdisciplinary Training Project, a project of the Academy for Professional Excellence.

Dana currently serves as Training Coordinator for the Tribal STAR Training Project. A graduate of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Dana is committed to engaging members of disenfranchised communities and enjoys the challenge of managing projects from conception to completion. Since joining the Academy for Professional Excellence in 2001, Dana and her husband have had two wonderful daughters.