HEY. I’M DANA.

I am an only child who has loved standing on stages since I was 8 years old. I love storytelling and making a room FEEL something.

A collective experience is so powerful and one of the reasons why I always joke that “Man, I would make a great pastor!”

Instead…I became a professional SAG-AFTRA actor in television, film and voiceover! I have had fun scenes as a sassy doctor, sassy sister, sassy bartender, and sassy lawyer on TV in shows like The Big Leap, Chicago Med, Empire, Inferno, Proven Innocent and Hot Date. I did theater in Chicago and regionally for over 20 years, with companies like Steppenwolf, Northlight, Timeline Theatre, Raven, American Blues, Theatre Squared, Steep and About Face (where I was nominated for an Equity Jeff Award for Best Supporting Actress).

For the last 4 years, I have been a speaker delivery coach for TEDxChicago, one of the largest TEDx events in the country. I also privately coach executives, non-profits, founders/entrepreneurs and leadership teams all over the country in public speaking, networking, pitching, storytelling and helping them polish up their PowerPoint presentations or remarks.

I am trained in Executive Presence from eCornell and work closing with the Southwest Institute for Emotional Intelligence as an actor and casting director.

I was also the creator/host of the I Swear on My Mother’s Grave podcast for three incredible seasons, 2020-2023. A podcast that was deeply personal for me as “I lost my mother years before her death,” something I said a lot. This show became a way for me to process my own feelings of regret, denial and sadness while sitting across from other people also processing complex maternal loss. This 5 star reviewed show was featured on Apple podcasts twice and listened to in over 20 countries.

Photos taken by my friend and rockstar photographer Ian McLaren.