Dana Downey Bio

Dana Downey

Assistant Dean of Student Affairs & Director, Career Development Center
New York University Abu Dhabi

Dana Downey serves as the Assistant Dean and Director of the Career Development Center at NYUAD. She has worked in higher education on three continents, seeking to foster cultures of curiosity and career development. She aims to connect people with each other and with opportunities, build capacity on teams, and lower barriers to access when it comes to options.

Dana is currently pursuing a PhD in Comparative International Development and Education at the University of Minnesota, and holds an MA in Counseling from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a BS from the University of Florida. She has presented at local, regional, and international conferences about contextualized career advising, data-driven decision making, regionally relevant recruitment, and the advantage of global mobility.