Team Member Spotlight: Dana Steffens

At LaunchPad Lab, our team has a unique mix of backgrounds—which gives us an opportunity to understand and relate to the wide range of industries that our clients specialize in. Today, we’re spotlighting Dana Steffens, one of our fantastic Project Managers at LaunchPad Lab.

Q: What do you do at LaunchPad Lab? 

A: I am a Project Manager. I’ve been here since January 2022.

Q: What do you tell people you do?

A: Outside of work, I tell people that I help facilitate building custom software for companies.

Q: What did you do before you arrived?

A: Immediately before joining LPL, I was a financial advisor for about a year. So day-to-day, I was helping people come up with plans/strategies for how to save, invest, and manage their money. Before that, I was a project manager at a small tech company in the travel/airline sector.

Q: It’s 10 am on Saturday. What are you doing?

A: You can likely find me teaching a yoga class. If not, I’m probably out on the water in some form (paddle-boarding, boating, jet skiing, SCUBA diving).

Q: What music do you gravitate towards when you have to be extra productive?

A: I’ll probably throw on my “Chill” playlist, which consists of Indie and alternative music.

Q: What’s the first CD/Album you ever purchased?

A: Probably something super lame and cringey, like Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers.

Q: A favorite LPL moment so far?

A: The company onsite in Chicago was AMAZING! I loved meeting (in person) all the people I had been working with online for so long. The people at LPL are truly what makes this company culture so unique and special.

Q: What inspires you?

A: There isn’t one single thing that inspires me. Instead, I tend to be inspired by the people around me. In my personal life, I draw inspiration from my family and close friends. Specifically, my mother and my husband always lead by example, support me, and encourage me to be a better version of myself.

In my professional life, my team truly inspires me. Since I started working at LPL, my team has taught me much about what it means to be an effective manager and a helpful team member. 

Q: What is the best concert you ever attended? (concert + year) 

A: I go to a lot of live music, but I don’t have a concert that stands out to me as beings heads and tails about the rest. I especially love a good music festival, though.

Q: If you could be any animal, which would it be?

A: If I were an animal, I would be a dog. This is because I am very social, people-oriented, and do well working in groups. 

Q: What’s the last book you read?

A: The last book I read was “The Divide” by Paul Brenner. Paul is my uncle FYI. Writing and authoring seem to run in my family, and I hope to have enough adventures throughout my life to have some interesting stories to tell one day.

Q: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

A: I don’t consider this crazy since I come from a family of pilots and I’m married to a pilot as well, but I started flying planes and became a licensed pilot at 17. A lot of people think that is insane. 

Q: What are you currently watching on Netflix?

A: Stranger Things! It is such a good show.

Q: If you could visit anywhere in the world you’ve never been, where would you go?

A: I’d like to spend some time exploring the Asia-Pacific. I’d love to be able to explore all that this region of the world has to offer from Thailand to Japan to Fiji to Australia. 

Q: What’s your secret talent that no one knows about? 

A: This isn’t a current talent, but I used to be pretty good at softball. I won the Little League World Series when I was younger and I even played some Division 2 college softball.

Q: What’s your favorite family tradition?

A: My favorite family tradition is that we have a family reunion with my mom’s entire side of the family every year. And my mom’s side of the family is huge — I have about 30 cousins. Each year the date and location change, but we always make it a point to all travel and see each other at least once a year.  

Q: Do you have a pet? If so, tell us about them.

A: My husband and I have a dog named Hawk. He is the best! He’s a Husky-Shepard mix that we rescued several years ago. Hawk has more personality than any dog I’ve ever had, and is such great company in a work-from-home environment! We are so lucky to have him. 

Q: Any favorite quotes?

A: “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”  ―Dalai Lama

Q: What are some of your pet peeves?

A: I have a pretty low tolerance for people texting during a meal or a meeting or during a one-on-one conversation. 

Q: Do you collect anything?

A: I don’t tend to collect objects, but I do love having photographs of notable places, times, and people in my life. So those photos do feel like a collection in a way.

Q: How do we follow you? Are you on social media?

You can find me on LinkedIn!

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