Dana Humphrey is a marketing strategist, mentor, educator, entrepreneur, and cultural connector whose career has centered on helping people, brands, and communities express themselves more fully. With a rare combination of entrepreneurial creativity, academic insight, and spiritual curiosity, Dana brings a holistic approach to everything she does—from marketing and sponsorship development to mentorship, storytelling, and community building.

Born in Canada, raised in London, England, and coming of age in Northern California, Dana considers herself a global citizen. These diverse cultural influences shaped her lifelong curiosity about people, relationships, and how communities form around shared passions. Today she lives in Rockaway Park on the beach in Queens, New York, with her two cats, Chance and Sassy. When she’s not working, teaching, or mentoring, you will often find her dancing in parks across Brooklyn—something she considers both a personal practice and a joyful way to stay connected to the pulse of the city.

Dana earned her Bachelor of Science degree from San Diego State University, studying Public Relations and Political Science. Early in her career she worked in the growing pet industry in California, where she developed an instinct for storytelling and media outreach. In 2007 she founded Whitegate PR, a public relations firm focused on helping entrepreneurs, authors, consumer brands, and artists reach wider audiences. Her media expertise led to numerous television appearances across the United States on networks including NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox. Over the years she has helped launch products, elevate small businesses, and craft media narratives that resonate with audiences.

Beyond her work as a publicist and strategist, Dana has built a parallel career in education and mentorship. Since moving to New York City in 2008, she has taught as a professor at both Baruch College and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), sharing her real-world experience in marketing, branding, and communications with students preparing to enter creative industries. Her teaching style emphasizes authenticity, self-awareness, and entrepreneurial courage—encouraging students to build careers that reflect who they truly are.

Dana’s personal journey has also taken her deep into the study of mindfulness, personal growth, and spirituality. Over the years she has explored meditation practices, Bikram yoga, Vipassana silent retreats, and a wide range of spiritual traditions. She has studied at the Subud Center and engaged with many philosophies that explore the relationship between self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and healthy relationships. Through mentoring and coaching, she helps others identify patterns in their lives, understand the roots of those patterns, and move toward more authentic self-expression in their work and relationships.

Her belief that transformation happens through courage, compassion, and creative expression informs everything she does. Dana often reminds clients and students alike that meaningful change begins with understanding ourselves and having the courage to step into our full identity.

Dana joined Dance Parade 纽约舞蹈嘉年华 · 巡游及狂欢 in 2017, initially supporting the organization through publicity and media outreach. Over time her role evolved into Sponsorship Director, where she now leads partnership development and sponsorship strategy for the organization’s annual parade, festival, and community programming. In this role she oversees a team of three sponsorship professionals and works closely with the executive and production teams to cultivate corporate partners and mission-aligned supporters.

For Dana, Dance Parade is more than an event—it is a living expression of values she deeply believes in. She resonates strongly with the organization’s philosophy that dance is a universal language capable of bringing people together across cultures, generations, and backgrounds. The idea that thousands of people can gather each year in New York City simply to celebrate movement, creativity, and freedom of expression speaks directly to her belief in the power of community.

She particularly values Dance Parade’s mission to promote dance as a unifying art form while advocating for the right to dance freely in New York City. In a city defined by diversity, Dana sees the parade as a powerful symbol of cultural exchange and joyful resistance—where traditional dance forms, street styles, and contemporary expressions all coexist in celebration.

Whether cultivating sponsorship relationships, mentoring entrepreneurs, teaching students, or dancing outdoors with friends, Dana approaches life with the same philosophy: change your life to reflect exactly what you envision. She believes deeply in creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and free to express themselves fully.

Through her work with Dance Parade and her broader professional life, Dana continues to do exactly that—bringing people together, amplifying creativity, and helping communities thrive through connection, expression, and movement.