Dana grew up in Hortonville, Wisconsin, a rural town in the central forests of the state where her passion for white-tailed deer was fostered at an early age. She graduated summa cum laude at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) with a B.S. in Biology. It was during her time as an undergraduate where her passion and interest in whitetails fully emerged after becoming the co-leader of the Deer Project with UWSP’s student chapter of The Wildlife Society. There she began dabbling in wildlife research through trapping and collaring deer, conducting trail camera surveys, and analyzing telemetry data.
Her experience at UWSP led her to pursue a career associated with the study of white-tailed deer. Dana was employed with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for four years, beginning as a research technician and advancing into her role as Assistant Project Coordinator for the SW WI CWD Deer and Predator Research Study in Dodgeville, WI. She was with the project through its entirety, leading dozens of research technicians and being involved in the capturing and collaring of over 800 adult white-tailed deer, 300 fawns, and 100 bobcats and coyotes.
She is currently working under the guidance of Drs. Michael Chamberlain, Richard Chandler, and Gino D’Angelo as the Senior Research Associate of a high-profile research project in NW Arkansas, studying the impacts of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) on the deer population there.
How to contact Dana