Dana Marie Kennedy

Dana Marie Kennedy is a founding Board member of Emerge, Women Leaders for a Democratic Future, in the Bay Area in addition to Arizona. Dana is currently the State Director for Arizona AARP.

Previously, Dana was the Executive Director for Emerge Arizona, Women Leaders for a Democratic Future. Dana served on several boards including: Arizona’s List, Progressive Majority, the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans and the Point South Mountain Residential Association and Dana was on the steering committee for Emerge America.

Dana was also the Communications Director for the Arizona AFL-CIO and has been instrumental in working with media outlets to highlight working family issues and assisted with all aspects of media for Prop 202, Raise the Minimum Wage which was overwhelmingly successful in the 2006 elections.

Prior to her work with the Arizona AFL-CIO and Emerge, Dana was the Western Regional Coordinator for the Alliance for Retired Americans, a national non-profit organization with more than 2.7 million union retirees and community based Americans working together to make their voices heard in the laws, policies, politics and institutions that shape the lives of working and retired Americans. Dana has worked in the non-profit and gerontology sector for the past 17 years at the local, state and national level. Before joining the Alliance for Retired Americans, Dana worked for the Democratic National Committee as the Director of Seniors Outreach. In this position Dana organized a national GOTV effort geared at Senior Citizens by utilizing issues to inform Seniors on the different philosophies and issues between the Democrats and the Republicans. Dana also organized the first series of Senior Caucus meeting at the Democratic National Convention to highlight the importance of Senior Volunteerism in the 2000 elections.

Dana has also worked as a community and political organizer for the National Council of Senior Citizens and the Massachusetts Senior Action Council (MSAC). While at MSAC, Dana was the Writer and Editor of the Source Book for Seniors, a 120 page guide for Seniors and their families on how to navigate their way through community and governmental programs to help keep seniors in the home and out of institutions. Prior to her career in Community and Political activism, Dana was a home health and hospice Social Worker and volunteer advocate for Senor Citizens. Dana has volunteered at Senior Centers, Outreach programs, and Women’s Abuse Shelters.

Dana holds a B.A. in Social Work and a Certificate in Gerontology from California State University, Long Beach and a Masters in Social Work, and Certificates in Human Service Management and Gerontology from Boston University. Dana currently lives in Phoenix, AZ.

Dana has been an issue expert on KAET’s Horizon, and has been interviewed on a variety of issues including women and politics by several TV stations including: KTVK News Channel 3, KNXV-ABC-15, KPNX-NBC. Dana has done interviews for several papers in Arizona including the Arizona Republic, the Capitol Times, and the Tucson Daily Star and the Tucson Citizen and has done several radio interviews.