Dana Wile is Interim Program Director for the Counselors for Computing team. Dana began her exploration into the intersections of technology education and a school counselor’s role in 2011 as an academic advisor at a Virginia Community College. Dana is now a high school counselor at a public high school in Pennsylvania.
When a technology teacher gave her a NCWIT Counselors for Computing Kit in 2015, Dana felt it was the exact resources she could have used earlier in her career. Attending a NCWIT C4C training inspired her further advocacy for equal access to computer education for women and other underrepresented populations in her own district and with her state Department of Education. Dana’s advocacy developed a counselor program at the state wide Computer Science for All Summit.
Dana has been a long-time advocate engaged in anti-racism work in her community and church. She served in AmeriCorps with City Year Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Dana’s Bachelor’s degree is in Communication Studies with minors in Latino/a Studies and African American Studies from Millersville University. She returned to her Alma Mater for her Masters Degree of Education in School Counseling. While in graduate school she led a team of undergraduate researchers at the Center for a Public Scholarship and organized the Leadership Summit: Dialogue on Racism. The Leadership Summit brought together high school and middle school students to empower engagement in tough conversations about race and confront racism in their communities.
Dana was the 2016 recipient of the Millersville University Distinguished Civic Leader Award. Dana has presented her research at the National Communication Association Conference and the American Criminal Justice Association Conference. She has been a speaker at many state School Counselor Association Conferences and counselor trainings across the country.
