In the late 1980s, Dana volunteered at Ollie Steele Burden Manor, and was matched with Peggy, a woman who had Alzheimer's disease. Dana companioned her, visiting her weekly, for 22 years and she died at 102 years old, only 22 days before Dana’s first grandson, Collin, was born. Throughout her journey with Peggy for those many years, she witnessed all the stages of Alzheimer’s disease, and thus began her advocacy for the Alzheimer's population.

“I am humbly grateful to Peggy, a person who had Alzheimer’s and my Amazing Grace, of whom gave me my earthly inspiration and led me into the world of Alzheimer’s. From the very first time I was paired with Peggy while volunteering at a nursing home, I knew we would form a lasting friendship; a lasting friendship which meant she would never know or use my name,” Dana wrote in her book, What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’s Disease. “Though she has passed, her heartbeat seems to have found its rhythm in mine and as long as this Alzheimer’s disease exists, it will pump life in me to advocate for this often-marginalized population.”

For over 30 years Dana has worked and advocated for this population. She was on the committee that started the first Alzheimer’s Association Walk Fundraiser in Baton Rouge in 1995 and the original Activity Director in the first Alzheimer’s secured unit at Ollie Steele Burden Manor in Baton Rouge. She later served as an advisor to build Louisiana’s first Alzheimer’s Social Model Day Respite Center, Charlie’s Place, a center of which she subsequently worked as director and one that was later nationally recognized. She has served on local, state, and national Boards and organizations promoting quality care for those affected by Alzheimer’s disease, and her programs and training curricula she developed for Alzheimer’s care have helped caregivers and healthcare professionals alike to meander the arduous journey of the disease.

Since 2013, Dana has voluntarily written a weekly Alzheimer’s Question and Answer column in The Advocate, a Baton Rouge-based newspaper, and currently volunteers as a Community Educator for the Alzheimer’s Association, facilitating monthly educational webinars through Zoom. Her column received the 2022 Maude’s Award for Innovation in Alzheimer’s Care. Dana also has been recognized as a Daily Point of Light Honoree and a 2021 Tandy Spirit Award.

Dana volunteers her time with Hospice in His Care, calling on caregivers of loved ones in hospice care to offer caring and support. She also serves as a Stephen Ministry Leader at St. Aloysius Church in Baton Rouge. (Stephen Ministry is a pastoral ministry that provides one-to-one Christian care to people in the community experiencing life losses and difficulties.) Dana’s first book, What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’s Disease, was recently released in August 2022, by Equinox Publishing. She completed Religious Education studies at St. Joseph Benedict College and an Internship in Spiritualty at the Archdiocesan Spirituality School in New Orleans, and she also has a Certificate of Gerontology. She lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with her husband, David, and near their two sons and daughters-in-law, as well as their four grandchildren.