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Dana Persia is the owner of DP ImageConsulting & Mobile Makeup Studio, a company specializing in individual and group image consulting. Her expertise includes makeup and grooming, etiquette and interpersonal communications, wardrobe analysis and personal shopping. Dana has conducted workshops for Penn State University, Interim House, the Philadelphia Prison System, Professional Women's Roundtable, Cinnaminson Library System, Dewitt Stern, and Deloitte Tax LLP. Her work with individual clients ranges from corporate professionals to autistic teens.
Dana graduated cum laude from Rutgers University with a B.A. in English. During a career that spans over 20 years, Dana held various positions in the corporate arena. She was an Account Executive for the Economist magazine in New York, Marketing and Communications Manager for Sunoco, Inc., Sr. PR Account Executive for Al Paul Lefton Company, and most recently, Director of New Business for BOYDS Clothiers. In 1998, Dana decided to take a hiatus from the corporate world and pursue her interest in the cosmetics industry, attending the Jean Madeline Aveda Institute in Philadelphia where she became licensed in esthetics. Dana is a member of the Association of Image Consultants International (AICI), the highly respected and internationally recognized organization for image consultants around the world.
 For several years, Dana worked in some of the finest spas and salons in Philadelphia including Terme Di Aroma where she was spa manager. As part of her passion for helping others and individuals reach their full potential, Dana launched her company in 2006. She is a seasoned writer with articles and interviews featured on Career Builder, LovetoKnow.com, The Street.com, CareFair.com, CNN.com, WebMD.com, WHYY (NPR), and in The Press of Atlantic City and the South Philly Review.
On a regular basis, Dana volunteers with several non-profit organizations and has held board positions with The Career Wardrobe and Women Against Abuse. She has also held committee and leadership positions with Women’s Way, Philadelphia Cares and Project Home. In March 2006, she visited the Gulf Coast to work at a Katrina aid camp rebuilding homes in Mississippi. 
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Camp Coast Care
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Pass Christian, Mississippi, March 2006
In the fall of 2006, the same year she launched DPIC, Dana had an idea. After reading an article in the newspaper about the difficulties many former inmates have re-entering society after incarceration, a light bulb went off. After making some initial contacts within the Philadelphia Prison System, she approached the Riverside Correctional Facility's Director of Volunteer Services with an idea to create a program working with incarcerated women that would enhance their self-esteem and improve the odds of their success when they reintegrated back into society. In about nine months, the Women's Image Project: Building Self-Esteem from the Outside, In," was underway. The Women's Image Project is a self-esteem workshop she presents to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women in Philadelphia as well as in Camden, NJ. 
Dana & the Women at Garrett House, Camden, NJ (2010)
During the three-hour workshop, Dana covers topics such as dressing for success, interpersonal skills, cosmetics and body language. She discusses dressing for the workplace, demonstrates how to appropriately apply makeup, and offers techniques on interpersonal skills such as conflict resolution, interview skills and body language. This program and ultimately the empowerment of women, is an integral part of the overall mission of Dana's business.
At first, the program was implemented with the Philadelphia Prison System's Riverside Correctional Facility and in 2009, the program moved to the Alternative & Special Detention Center. In mid-2009, Dana approached Garrett House, a half-way house for formerly incarcerated women located in Camden and is now presenting her workshop to the women who are housed there.
 Dana with former Director of Volunteer Services, Bill Chaney and Louis Giorola, Commissioner of Philadelphia Prisons.In May 2008, Dana received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Philadelphia Prison System.
The program participation has grown from five to eight women per workshop to anywhere from 15-25 women per workshop. By April 2010, when she will have conducted additional workshops already scheduled with ASD and Garrett house, Dana will have touched the lives of close to 200 women.
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