Dana French
Chief Data Officer
Dana French has been an experienced leader and manager, strategic planner, developer of leadership and executive development programs, and a consultant to organizations in both the public and private sectors. He has not only been an effective executive for over 30 years, as a consultant he has consistently employed vision and large system thinking to help organizations manage effective change initiatives.
Naval Service
He graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree and subsequently earned a Master of Science degree in Personnel Management at the Naval Postgraduate School.
His first career was in the Navy as a surface warfare officer and included duty at sea in various cruisers, destroyers and minesweepers. At sea, he first commanded an Auxiliary Ocean Tug as the youngest commanding officer in the Pacific Fleet, then a Riverine Assault Division in combat in the Delta of South Vietnam and finally a Guided Missile Destroyer. His combat service in the Vietnam War in country and in ships at sea earned him two Bronze Star Medals, a Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, and a Purple Heart. While Commanding Officer of USS Robison (DDG-12), he led his crew in the rescue of 262 Vietnamese boat people who were near death adrift in a cargo boat in the Gulf Of Thailand. Many of the refugees subsequently immigrated to the United States and have become productive Americans citizens.
Ashore, he served on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Naval Personnel and Commander Western Sea Frontier. He designed, developed and implemented LMET, the Navy's first centralized program for training and development in leadership for all officers and enlisted. He also developed and operated a Navy-wide system of internal organizational consultants to support organizational effectiveness throughout the Navy. He commanded the Recruit Training Command, San Diego, and, with a staff of 500, acculturated 50,000 recruits into the Navy. Finally, he served as the Dean of Faculty and Academic Programs at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, a senior war college within National Defense University in Washington, D. C. As a combat veteran with more than 30 years of Naval Service, he retired from the Navy as a highly decorated Captain.
Since retiring from the Navy, he has continued his Navy involvement. He was a member of the Secretary of the Navy’s Personnel Task Force Design Group, a project to redesign the personnel system of the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps for the 21st century. He also served as a senior lecturer at the Center For Executive Education at the U. S. Naval Postgraduate School for 10 years, and an adjunct professor teaching a course in Strategic Management to Company Officers in a masters degree program at the U. S. Naval Academy.
He was a Professor on the maiden voyage in 2007 of The Scholar Ship, a new venture to provide college courses for credit to 200 international undergraduate and graduate students from 35 countries on a four-month around the world cruise aboard a cruise ship converted into an afloat college campus. He taught three courses: International Security, Intercultural Communications, and Cross Cultural Management.
Organization Development Consultant
After his Naval career, he successfully transitioned to a second career as a self-employed organization development consultant and trainer based in Frederick, Maryland. President of his own company, he offered consultation and training in executive leadership, visioning, strategic planning, teambuilding, and change management. He was also a senior partner in INTENTIONAL FUTURES, a small group of community and organization development consultants.
Consulting clients included:
Chief of Naval Education and Training
U.S. Navy Team Submarine
Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Postal Service
Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association of North America
Maryland State Highway Administration
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Maryland Motor Carrier Program
Pen Mar Development Corporation
Defense Nuclear Agency
The Frederick County Maryland School Board
The City of Frederick Visioning Project – Aspire Frederick
Governments of Frederick City and County, Maryland
Maryland Department of Transportation
American Society of Public Administration
Commander Naval Forces, Japan
Naval Medical Command, Portsmouth, Virginia
U.S. Navy Inspector General
He retired over 15 years ago, and now is an informal community leader offering mostly pro bono consulting support and system leadership to community organizations and programs.
Local Community Service
Graduated from the Leadership Frederick County Program, then redesigned key parts of that program, and facilitated its opening 2-day retreat for 15 years.
Chairman of the Leadership Council of the Chamber of Commerce, overseeing Leadership Frederick County.
President of the Friends of Baker Park.
Member of the Parks and Recreation Commission of the City of Frederick for three years.
Chairman, Board of Directors, of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in Frederick’s annual concert series for five years.
Co-facilitated Frederick County 2000.
Member, The Committee For Frederick County.
Lead consultant for Aspire Frederick, a visioning initiative with the City of Frederick.
Provided teambuilding training to the Washington, DC and Montgomery County Maryland Police Forces.
Member, Frederick County Charter Writing Board
Member, County Executive’s Transition Team
Member, County Executive’s Leadership Team for Community Needs
Member, Livable Frederick Steering Committee – Head of Vision Work Group.
Member, Mayor’s Strategic Opportunities Advisory Team, City of Frederick
Local Strategic Planning Facilitation
The City of Frederick
Frederick City Police Department
Democratic Central Committee of Frederick County
Frederick County Superintendent of Schools
Frederick Arts Council
Friends of Baker Park
The Frederick Center
Maryland Ensemble Theater
St John the Evangelist Church
Cakes For Cause
Maryland Shakespeare Festival