Alumna Spotlight - Dana Grant DRC'15

As a human resources professional, author, and now a Douglass Advisory Board member, Dana Grant DRC’15 has used her skills and talents throughout her career to provide counsel in a variety of professional capacities.

Currently, Grant works for the County of Essex as an assistant personnel technician in the human resources department. There, she guides the county’s employees in making choices about everything from benefits to employee relations to career development.

“Human Resources is basically responsible for handling an organization's most important asset, their employees,” said Grant. “The most fulfilling aspect of my job is being able to help our employees, which indirectly helps serve the residents of the county.”

Before going on to earn a master’s degree in human resources management, Grant’s professional passion for helping others began at Douglass, where she studied psychology. While at the College, Grant also learned to embrace her drive to be successful.

“My Douglass education has prepared me to take life by the horns and go after what I want,” said Grant. “We are often taught by society to hide our ambition, but Douglass has prepared me to own my ambition despite how society may perceive me. The most important thing I learned there was to always know that you will never stop learning.”

Outside of her work for the county, Grant has pursued a variety of interests and achieved significant accomplishments. In addition to being a competitive figure skater who competed in several national-level competitions, she is also a board member of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey. She is a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as a mentor to those seeking career advancement advice. Through her blog, she has a platform to begin conversations surrounding issues she’s passionate about. In particular, Grant’s work is often attuned to how modern graduates transition to life outside of college. Her book, #RecentGrad follows a newly graduated woman as she tries to find a job. The book also features the character’s blog, where she writes about the struggles she faces to start her life as a young adult.

Grant’s keen insights on what life is like for the modern college graduate makes her a wonderful resource for Douglass students. She has returned to Douglass on a number of occasions to extend her wisdom. In 2019, Grant was a panelist at the Christiana Foglio DC’84 Career Conference. In September 2020, she was a keynote speaker at an installment of the new Dean’s Lecture Series: Critical Conversations on Black History. Most recently, Grant joined the Douglass Advisory Board. As a member of the Board, Grant will join a group of Douglass alumnae who offer their perspective and talents to College leadership on a variety of issues.  

To Douglass students who have similar interests and goals, Grant offers some valuable advice:

“For those interested in pursuing a career in human resources, gain work experience before you graduate. If your major is not HR, take some HR classes before you graduate,” she said. “For those who are interested in social justice initiatives, check out to see what your local community is doing, read books that are about social justice issues, and be sure to vote!”  

The College is so grateful for Grant’s continued dedication to Douglass students and looks forward to the impact she will make as a member of the Advisory Board. To learn more about Dana Grant, please click here.