Dana Wile is a consultant for Counselors 4 Computing and serves in an advisory role for the C4C program. Dana is a National Board Certified School Counselor at a public high school in Pennsylvania. Dana was the Interim Program Director for the Counselors for Computing team from 2021-2022. 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 partnered with Millersville University on a 2-year PA Smart Grant of over $400,000 to advance Pennsylvania school counselor training in computer science.
When a technology teacher gave Dana 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 2016 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 Master’s 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 speaks at School Counselor Association Conferences and counselor professional development programs across the country, including the Keynote address at the 2019 Oklahoma School Counselors Association Conference and 2021 Michigan School Counselors Association Spring Conference.
