Dana is experienced in long range comprehensive, multi-jurisdictional, park and open space, and extraterritorial area plans; regional economic analysis and opportunity identification; and development review and process coordination. Dana has led planning processes for a range of communities – rural to urban – including the City of Janesville, Shawano County, Marquette County, Village of New Glarus, and several others throughout Wisconsin. Dana had a lead role in preparing the innovative Broadband Plan for the Village of Weston and preparing a successful grant proposal to expand broadband access within the community. Most recently, Dana has been supporting school district planning initiatives.

Dana has a strong interest in regional systems – thinking outside the boundaries of individual communities to understand and address challenges and pursue opportunities at a broader scale. Dana is a skilled communicator who can quickly and effectively synthesize complex ideas and concepts – translating them to actionable strategies in plans, policy documents, and grant proposals. During her eight years with Vandewalle & Associates, Dana had strong supporting roles in leading “asset and opportunities analyses” for the Thrive (Dane County, WI), Milwaukee 7, and the Quad Cities, IL/IA regions.

In addition to Dana’s over ten years of experience as a professional planning consultant, she brings broad public and non-profit sector research, publication, outreach and advocacy experience focused on planning, environment, and land use. In recent years, Dana has been pursuing her strong interest in the interface of community planning and human health, and exploring new ways to integrate this into her practice.

Beyond project and planning-related work, Dana manages the day to day operations of MDRoffers Consulting.

Education:

M.S. Urban and Regional Planning
M.S. Land Resources
University of Wisconsin-Madison

B.S. Biology (Phi Beta Kappa)
Hope College
Holland, Michigan

Fellow, Doris Duke Conservation Association

Professional Affiliations:

Member, American Association of Certified Planners (AICP)

Member, American Planning Association, National and Wisconsin Chapters

Lecturer, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 2010 and 2011