Dana was born and raised on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands where his parents ran a boat yard at the West end of the island. Between the ages of 8 and 18 he attended Gordonstoun School in the North of Scotland where he completed A-Levels in Business Studies and Physics.

One day while researching universities in the U.S.A. he noticed that the University of Colorado at Boulder boasted 300 sunny days a year. After soaking in the wind and rain for 10 years this prospect seemed too good to be true. He graduated from the Leeds School of Business in 2004 with a B.S. in Business Management.

After graduation, Dana joined the 100ft private sailing vessel Sapphire as the Deckhand/Mate. The crew sailed from Newport, Rhode Island to Brisbane, Australia (and back) stopping on many different Pacific islands along the way. One of his favorite memories is bartering at anchor with local fishermen in their outrigger canoes and ending up with delicious fish in return for a few gallons of fresh water (once the fishermen realized how far they had to paddle to reach the nearest stream). The first notions of a career in the renewable energy industry came from harnessing the wind to power oceanic crossings.

After eventually obtaining his Captain’s license and leaving the vessel in 2006, Dana discovered a small company in Tortola installing solar thermal systems, and was given the opportunity to start his career.

Colorado Connections: Dana moved to Colorado originally in 2000 to study Business Management at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He moved back to Colorado in 2007 to live with his girlfriend Theresa and pursue a career in solar photovoltaics. A year later, Dana had installed over 300 kilowatts of photovoltaics and had the good fortune to join the team at Bella Energy.