Dana is a senior project manager at grassroots solutions and helps manage grassroots advocacy and organizing projects on behalf of nonprofits, foundations, and associations working on a range of issues. Dana is also one of the firms’ most active trainers, having designed and facilitated dozens of workshops and trainings, and considers the opportunity to teach others skills related to grassroots organizing one of the job perks. Some of her most recent clients include the Sunflower Foundation, HealthPartners, Transit for Livable Communities, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, Tobacco Free Missouri and the St. Paul Saints.

Prior to working at grassroots solutions, Dana worked for the Minnesota Community Action Partnership (MinnCAP), an organization that performs research, lobbying, and advocacy-related work on behalf of 28 community action agencies around the state helping low-income Minnesotans reach self-sufficiency.

While Dana cares deeply about social justice, she didn’t start off in this line of work. Her very first jobs included cleaning toilets at the local community pool, working at a “snow stuff, etc.” kiosk in the middle of the mall, and waitressing. She didn’t know it at the time, but all of these positions helped to strengthen her character – not to mention cement her belief that everyone should have to work in customer service at least once in their lifetime.