Dana has spent the last couple decades burrowing her way into all sorts of places she had no business being, including herding celebrities in green rooms, working as an armed communicator in Afghanistan, serving as a White House staffer, and conducting media interviews on national television after running all night and changing in a Gold's Gym bathroom. Her goal is to encourage readers to go after their dreams even if they don’t fit the traditional mold — and even if they’re a bit of a hot mess, like she often is.
Dana considers herself an "ambassador for the unlikelies" which she describes as those who refuse to talk themselves out of unlikely goals.
Ayers has appeared on Morning Shows in major national markets such as Good Morning America, WGN Chicago, and Great Day D.C., along with dozens of media interviews for print, radio, and podcasts including SiriusXM Radio and Women’s Running magazine.
She holds a master’s degree in Communication from Johns Hopkins University and is the author of the international bestseller Confessions of an Unlikely Runner, and a co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Running for Good. She can typically be found putting coffee before important responsibilities and dreaming up new ridiculous goals to attempt, like starring in her own TV show where she simultaneously competes in a vocal competition while fixing up an old house.
Dana currently resides in North Carolina but will always consider Washington D.C. “home” after adventuring there for nearly 20 years.