Dana M. Smith

Named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by The Daily Record for her professional achievement, community leadership, and mentoring, Dana understands the importance of performance and perseverance. Throughout a diversified career, she has partnered with others to create significant organizational value and build exceptional cultures. Dana has developed Board members and executives to manage change, improve organizational performance, and increase profitability. She has coached hundreds of professionals who are flourishing in their roles and impacting organizations and communities today.

Dana’s extensive corporate experience and empathy give her multiple lenses to appreciate and support her clients’ aspirations. She helps leaders sharpen their resilience and agility by bringing her deep listening skills and rich business background to the coaching relationship. Dana has seen companies from the perspective of operating businesses and private equity/venture capital throughout complete economic cycles. She has also acquired new businesses, liquidated a company, and sold two publicly traded organizations in back-to-back transactions.

Since 2006, Dana has led HR and other functions for publicly traded companies (CapitalSource, American Capital, Hannon Armstrong), focusing on advancing culture, strategy, and organizational development. Additionally, she led human resources at Constellation Energy and Sylvan Learning Systems subsidiaries and worked in various domestic and overseas positions for Citicorp earlier in her career.

As a member of its Executive Committee, 1st Vice Chair, and Board Governance and Nominating Committee Chair, Dana is currently serving her third term on the Board of Directors of The Y in Central Maryland, a mission-driven, charitable organization dedicated to developing the full potential of every individual through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. Furthermore, she recently led a Board Development project for Theatre Washington and is now a member of its Full Board.

Dana is also a public speaker and has been featured in, or contributed to, publications such as Smart CEO Magazine, Employee Benefits News, The Washington Post, and Washington Business Journal.

Certification

• Wharton Executive Education – Executive Coaching Certificate
• Hogan Assessments
• Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI®)
• Benchmarks® 360
• Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
• Deeper Signals’ Core Drivers Diagnostic

Education

• John Hopkins University, MS, Organizational Counseling
• The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, BS, Economics with Concentration in Human Resources
• Universidad de Alicante, Advanced Spanish Coursework
• Professional Coach Training Program, Co-Active Training Institute (CTI)

Practice Areas

• C-Suite Advisory
• Board Advisory
• Executive Presence
• Strategy
• Emotional Intelligence
• Organizational Development
• Leadership Development
• Team Effectiveness
• Leader in Transition
• Career Development
• Executive Coaching