Director of NDANO
BISMARCK – While many nonprofits do so much to help people, sometimes forgotten is that there are always people behind the scenes.
Dana Hager has been the executive director of the North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organization since May of 2022, and has been helping nonprofits her whole life. She grew up in Rugby and went to Minot State University while working at the Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot, where she worked for another 14 years following her graduation. Hager moved to Bismarck in 2010.
“Minot is still, I feel like it’s my home,” said Hager.
Hager received a degree in business education which helped her move up from zookeeper to education coordinator.
“It was perfect,” said Hager. “I can teach and still be at the zoo.”
Hager then became director of the Roosevelt Park Zoo.
“For personal reasons. “My boyfriend, now husband ,was from Bismarck,” said Hager. “It kind of drew straws on was he going to move to Minot or was I going to move to Bismarck. I left my favorite job in the world and moved to Bismarck.”
Once in Bismarck, Hager worked in the Agriculture Department at the Capitol for Commissioner Doug Goehring for seven years.
“I feel like I have the ‘help your neighbors’ mentality and that North Dakota in me,” said Hager. “I love to give back. I love to help people and see them succeed. This job with nonprofits is just perfect for me because there’s so many nonprofits and they just need that boost. I’m proud of our nonprofit community. They do so much for our communities. They’re very much the backbone of our communities.”
