Dana Kilponen is a Parks, Recreation, and Arts professional who has a passion for improving employee satisfaction in workplaces, and is a mental health advocate. She strongly believes in improving accommodations for people with disabilities, particularly neurodivergent people, people with autism, and people with sensory sensitivities. Dana studied Psychology with a minor in Leadership in Organizations at Michigan State University.She has had experience volunteering at a crisis intervention center, where she learned various techniques to assist people to cope in crises. She has spent over 100 hours being trained in techniques to demonstrate empathy and provide validation, as well as to deal with specific sensitive topics, such as abuse and sexual assault.Dana has twelve years of experience in the aquatics industry, and has previously worked as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and head swim instructor at multiple aquatics facilities. She is an American Red Cross Certified Lifeguard Instructor and is a certified Aquatics Facility Operator. Dana currently works as the Aquatics Specialist for the Parks, Recreation and Arts Department of the City of East Lansing. Dana also worked for the aquatics portion of the Sports Skills Program at MSU, which is a program for people with disabilities. Through her work with the City of East Lansing, Dana was part of the team that was recognized with the Outstanding Service Award in 2022 for reopening the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center following two years of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also received the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Employee of the Year Award in 2023 for her efforts to make the city’s aquatics facilities and programming more accessible for patrons with disabilities, particularly neurodivergent people and those with sensory sensitivities.Dana was a member of the B1G Flag Corps in the Spartan Marching Band at Michigan State University, plays the flute, and is passionate about instrumental music. She was also in Tau Beta Sigma, which is a national honorary band sorority. Dana held officer positions as the Historian and Corresponding Secretary for the Zeta Epsilon Chapter.Dana is also a creative and artistic person, and channels her creativity into a variety of hobbies, including quilting, sewing, wood burning, and nail painting/ nail art. She also enjoys antique shopping and thrifting, and enjoys up-cycling items. Dana currently works a little bit part-time at Jo-Ann Fabrics, where she combines these hobbies with her love and talent for providing spectacular customer service.
Listed skills include Leadership, Teamwork, Time Management, Research, and 3 others.