Born in Louisiana, 1961, Dana was raised in an orphanage from the age of three before landing with abusive peers at age eleven, then on the streets at fifteen, in Half-Way Houses, a Government Shelter, and finally a Foster Home at the age of sixteen.  Navigating uncertain waters as a teen and young adult almost pulled this young lady

under that whirlpool of negativity and destruction forever.  But after a life-revealing moment of inspiration during a near suicide, she finally faced up to the fears of the past and struck out…swimming for her life. 

At the age of 23, fed up with self disgust from always running away from her fears…she finally took one step with courage and set herself on the path to her long-standing dream of winning an Olympic gold medal (in Taekwondo at the 24^th Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea). That one step changed her life forever…but not just because she won that gold medal. Her real triumph was that she discovered strength, courage, and wisdom along that rocky road to the gold that helped her continue going forward in life in the pursuit of her dreams…in the pursuit of happiness.

Along her Olympic journey, she was able to change her thinking from, “I can’t,” to “I CAN!”  Then in the next twenty years, her passions took her to the top of her fields, as an award-winning Stuntwoman in Hollywood, a six-time Hall-of-Fame Martial Artist, and as a top Motivational Speaker talking with groups of up to 45K attendees.  Dana’s repeated successes despite a tumultuous background and tremendous on-going odds, proves that greatness lies within us all.  Today, Dana says that her greatest success in life is the simple knowledge that we are capable of so much more than we think.

Now, at the age of 55, Dana takes her messages of life, Olympics and Hollywood and helps others make their dreams come true.  She helps them set the bar high in terms of excellence and she coaches them to reach for the clouds…regardless of change, regardless of obstacles, regardless of fear.  Dana knows that the secret to success and happiness is really quite simple…that, great things are possible with just one step with courage!

Now retired from stunts, Dana lives in San Antonio Texas, occasionally traveling for sport, speaking and PR engagements, while volunteering locally for various charitable organizations like The Children’s Shelter and Saddle Light, a therapeutic riding center.  Her message about life is that, “Pursuit IS happiness!”  “Because nothing can take the place of that sense of pride and satisfaction, when we feel good about who we are and what we do!”

Dana has appeared in such major motion pictures as the Batman movies, Terminator III and IV, Independence Day and Charlie’s Angels, to name just a few. During her twenty years of car hits, stair falls, fights and crashes as a Stuntwoman, she joined the ranks of Hollywood’s elite, working with leading actresses including Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz, Uma Thurman, Gwynneth Paltrow, Renee Russo and Jennifer Garner. The highlight of her prolific career was winning the prestigious World Stunt Award (equivalent to an Emmy) for her work for Cameron Diaz on Charlie’s Angels.  Her life-long journey from victim to victorious is an inspiration to all.