Dana Dakin spent 35 years in the financial services industry, founding the first creative agency to focus on marketing for institutional investment firms. She was recognized as a thought leader in the industry and co-produced the PBS series and companion book, Beyond Wall Street: The Art of Investing.
Upon retirement in 2003, she returned to an early interest in Africa from her undergraduate days at Scripps College. She founded WomensTrust, an NGO based in one village in Ghana, to partner at the community level integrating microfinance, girls’ education, and healthcare. The “bottom-up” organization earned praise from leading international economist and author William Easterly, who called WomensTrust “probably the best project I’ve seen in Africa.”
In 2023, Dana moved back to Mill Valley to settle in a seniors community at The Redwoods where she continues to write and engage in community and social causes.
Beyond Wall Street (1999)
Five For The Road (2004)
This guide covers product launches, shortening sales cycles, crafting winning presentations, and maximizing client meetings, this anniversary edition captures the firm’s signature “sole‑source” approach to building trust and driving results. 54 pages 6.25" x 6.25" (limited edition).
PR & Articles
Manchester Union Leader, AT HOME, Tuesday, November 10, 2009 “Transformation of the Wilmot firehouse” (pdf)
Encore, "Work That Matters In The Second Half Of Life" - Spring 2008
KPBS, "Microlending Aids Women of West Africa" - 24 May 2007
CNNMoney.com - FORTUNE Small Business, - 5 May 2007 "Investing In The Women Of Ghana" (pdf)
Barron's, "Personal Passions" - 27 Nov 2006
Dana Receives Mannington Mills Award - 17 Oct 2006 (pdf)
New Hampshire Magazine, "Advocates Know The Ropes" - May 2006 (pdf)
ACCENT Home & Garden - Sep/Oct 2005 "At Home in a Firehouse" by Jenny Donelan, photos by John Hession (pdf)
The WIRE, "Woman to Woman" - 21 Sep 2005 "Five New Hampshire Women Make International Aid A Grassroots Effort" (pdf)
Concord Monitor, "The Global Village" - 5 Oct 2004 (pdf)
"Beyond Wall Street achieves a laudable balance between human drama and sage advice, and the sages involved are some of the finest investors of our time." -Ed Finn, Editor, Barron's