“I believe every chapter of our life prepares us for the next and every sphere impacts your overall story!”
Dana has been in YOUR shoes as a former 2x NCAA Balance Beam Champion.
Learn more about Dana:
Dana’s life journey began in Michigan where she was born and raised until 1989.
In 1989 she moved to Tuscaloosa home of The University of Alabama on a full-athletic scholarship and started her collegiate gymnastics career. During the length of her school career, where she was an academic All-American and a 2X- NCAA Balance Beam Champion competing at a highest level, honing her competitive and leadership skills along with an incredible work ethic.
Dana moved to Dallas, Texas in 1994 trusting an internship would eventually turn into a full-time job. In less than 3 years, she started as an assistant in Marketing and shortly became Director of Training at AMX Corporation. Then took her next leap of faith…
Back to Tuscaloosa, Dana earned her master’s in business administration from Culverhouse School of Business at The University of Alabama from 1996 to 1998 and simultaneously was the Volunteer Coach at her alma mater for 2 years.
Before she even graduated with her MBA, she obtained a position at Southern Comfort Conversions in Trussville, Alabama as a Director of Marketing, which helped her gain valuable experience in sales and marketing.
In 2000 was when Dana got married to Tuscaloosa native Joe Duckworth and shortly after became a mother of her 2 children, her daughter born in 2004 and her son in 2006. Throughout this period, she volunteered for 7 more years while somehow also working full-time and being a mother, a wife and philanthropist.
In 2001, Dana joined Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, as a territory representative in sales for seven years earning countless achievement awards and climbing the corporate ladder. She returned to volunteer gymnastics coaching for 7 more years.
9 years of volunteer coaching, Dana was asked to join the NCAA Championship program as a full-time assistant coach. Leaving corporate America to begin her full-time coaching career. During this time, she coached several NCAA individual champions and was part of the 2011 & 2012 back-to-back National Championship Team staff. To add to her personal accolades, Dana became the co-founder of ReadBAMARead, a non-profit organization that was formed within weeks of the devastating April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak to support learning and enhance literacy in the Alabama community.
In 2014, Dana became the Head Coach. Her previous experience in sales and marketing prepared her for the position as Head Coach, as she had to manage the team’s budget, create a team ‘brand’, recruit new talent, all while ensuring the team’s success. Her hard work and discipline paid off, and her team went off to win two SEC championships under her leadership.
In May 2022, Dana stepped down as Head Coach — coincidentally on her son’s birthday. The very next day, she was sought after for a new career at AFFLINK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Performance Food Group Corporation (PFGC). In August 2022, she began working as Vice President of Supply Chain & Strategic Accounts and has since advanced to her current role as Senior Director, National Sales & Packaging.
Present day, Dana is involved in public speaking, philanthropy, and is the current Sr. Director National Sales & Packaging at AFFLINK. Dana’s life journey has been a series of chapters, each one preparing her for the next chapter. From her early days as a gymnast in Alabama to her career in sales and marketing at Pfizer, each experience has shaped her into the successful coach and leader she is today. Dana understands the struggles of a working mother and the need to balance life imperfectly. The experiences she’s had through the length of her career will take her even further as she steps into this next chapter of her life. Her teachings of hard work, discipline, and unity are truly a living embodiment of who Dana has been and continues to be.
