Dana has a Masters Degree from Portland State University in International Development and Non-Profit Management, focusing on public health programming. She got started in supportive housing in 2014 as a Supportive Housing Healthcare Coordinator at Portland's Central City Concern, then moved into a manager role overseeing CCC’s Permanent Supportive Housing programs. Dana moved to the Salem, Oregon area in 2019 and spent two years doing program development and funding strategies for a community action agency, focusing on housing services program development. She has been at OHCS since January 2021 working to develop the State’s first PSH development program and working on state policy for supportive housing development.