Dana Childress

Dana Childress joins Leading Edge as the Vice President, Leading Places to Work. She is charged with supporting the field’s “people people”, building their capacity, creating a community of practice and helping organizations become great places to work.

Previously, she completed a 15-year tenure with Teach For America, developing and leading the organization’s talent acquisition efforts to hire its staff. Her team worked to bring in over 500 hires annually, with a focus on building strong and diverse applicant pools and implementing culturally competent hiring practices. Most recently, she led hiring for the organization’s Executive Directors, bringing together multiple stakeholders, including regional boards, to strategically run ED searches. She thrives on helping individuals and teams develop their strengths and weather change in this dynamic moment in workplaces across the country. She began her time with Teach For America as a high school teacher, serving as a corps member in St. Louis.

Dana graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with majors in Journalism and Political Science. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Patrick and two young, active sons, Cole and Ben. She is an active community member, and currently serves on the KIPP DC Ambassador board.