Prior to joining NRGI, Dana worked for Social Development Direct, the CDC Group, Global Witness and the office of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy. She is an integrity specialist by training, with a particular interest in the role of oversight institutions in accountability and development. She has extensive research, analysis and advocacy experience. Dana worked closely with government officials, development partners and NGOs on drafting of South Sudan's oil legislation. She has also worked with companies across Africa and South Asia to strengthen internal anticorruption controls.

Dana has a postgraduate degree from SOAS, University of London, in international and comparative law. She wrote her dissertation on the role of supreme audit institutions in natural resource revenue accountability.