Dana Colleen Peterson
for Town Board
WHY I’M RUNNING FOR RHINEBECK
I’m passionate about effective public service. I grew up in Bellefonte, PA, a small town of 6,000, much like Rhinebeck, where I learned the importance of local public service from our borough manager: my dad, who served in that capacity for 28 years. Working for a New York law firm early in my career, public work meant high-impact pro-bono legal work for those who desperately needed it. In partnership with the Robin Hood Foundation, I helped drive major projects like a charter school in Crown Heights. For the community organization Coney Island USA, we ensured that this historic working-class neighborhood remained accessible (and fun!) for all by blocking an outsized luxury condo and a Niketown retail space which would have turned the waterfront into another luxury play place for the wealthy. We moved our family to Rhinebeck over a decade ago because we wanted an environment like the town where I grew up, where our kids could thrive and feel deeply integrated into a real community. Preserving and protecting this type of community has been a life-long commitment.
WHY THE TOWN BOARD
Stepping into public office is an essential opportunity to continue to serve and to help shape the public development that will ensure that Rhinebeck can grow, yet retain its essential values and vibrant character. Witnessing first hand the dangers that my children confronted in simply wanting to ride their bikes to school, I began volunteering with the Town Board to push the Rhinebeck to River trail forward. Extending the benefits of our dense, walkable village the whole way to the river and train station will be a phenomenal public good for all to safely enjoy. I’m excited to contribute to so many of the choices and conversations that will shape Rhinebeck’s extraordinary future. I look forward to Serving on the Town Board to create the best possible outcomes for everyone in this community as the Town continues to grow.
DANA’S BIOGRAPHY
Dana Colleen Peterson has lived in the Hudson Valley for more than a decade. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of eXacta Global, a recruiting firm focused on attorneys and finance professionals. Before starting eXacta Global 10 years ago, Dana was a real estate associate in New York City where she worked on complex deals and important pro-bono projects like protecting the public Coney Island museum from becoming high-rent condos. She was an associate in the real estate practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Dana got her JD from Columbia and her BA from the University of Chicago.
Dana grew up in Bellefonte, PA – a small town of 6,000 – where her father was Borough Manager for 28 years, introducing her to the importance of local public service from her earliest years. She and her husband live in Rhinecliff with their two sons.