Dana Crumity
Dana Crumity, B.B.A. is a seasoned People & Culture leader, operations strategist, and general management professional with more than 18 years of experience guiding organizations to operational excellence and sustainable growth. Currently serving as Director of Human Resources at Carey & Co, she oversees HR across multiple corporations following acquisitions, managing recruiting, employee development, coaching, and consulting initiatives. Dana combines a deep understanding of talent strategy with operational insight, ensuring that organizations have the systems, people, and culture in place to thrive.
Dana’s career began in retail, where she discovered a passion for the people side of business, particularly recruiting and talent development. She progressed to regional recruiting for GEICO, worked as Director of Operations for a digital art space overseeing multiple locations including New York, and held leadership roles in both nonprofit and for-profit organizations that support mission-driven work. Across all roles, Dana has leveraged her expertise to optimize operations, implement process improvements, and develop teams while driving business growth and enhancing organizational performance.
Known for her collaborative leadership style and coaching-oriented approach, Dana is committed to developing people and creating high-impact workplace experiences. She is a professional health and life coach, emphasizing career development, onboarding, and employee engagement as critical touchpoints for long-term success. A member of SHRM and a graduate of the University of Miami, Dana blends analytical insight with strategic vision, helping organizations navigate complex operational challenges while fostering thriving, engaged teams.
• Professional Health and Life Coach
• University of Miami
• SHRM
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to trusting my instincts and never second-guessing myself. I coached myself out of a really peculiar situation, and I was like, no, no, no, I know what I need to do, and I'll never go against my intuition ever again. I just trust myself and do it. My passion has always been the people piece of HR. I love being able to bring somebody on board, make those offers, and see the joy and delight in people's eyes. Having gone with them through the entire process and knowing them from day one of how nervous they were, and then being able to welcome them to the team, I'll never get tired of that. One of my most notable achievements is when I got to open the New York location for the digital art space I worked for. Being able to say that I opened an art space in New York will never get old to me. It's so cool that it's still functioning and high-performing. I love to visit them and see the team, and knowing that the leadership I put in place there, the one managing the space, is someone that I hired and trained and promoted, and she's still there and killing it. The same for the DC location. She was a volunteer when I started, but then to bring her on board full-time, promote her into management, train her to be the GM of that location, and she's still there, even in Houston right now making sure they're functioning. That just brings me so much joy, just to watch the career development that I kind of hope I had a hand in. I really brought that coaching aspect into talent and hiring and career development because I love when people leave me and go beyond. I want them to go beyond what I'm giving them. I want to see them flourish, I want to see them thrive.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve ever received came from leaders who modeled people-first leadership and showed me how HR can be a true strategic driver for an organization. They taught me to always prioritize developing and supporting people, because when your team thrives, the business thrives too.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Never second-guess yourself. You know exactly what you want. Everything that you need is already inside of you, and it's not that you need outside validation, especially when you have a clear goal in mind. Stick to it, because some people will hear it and be like, oh, I don't think that's something you should do, that's crazy. Don't listen to them. It's crazy until you do it. So really, really trust your instincts, really get to learn yourself so that you can hear yourself clearly through all the noise. And just do that, trust yourself and go for it. I'm also really passionate about helping young Black women just in professional spaces. It's not a niche thing, of course there are tons of Black women in professional settings, but it's just like, it's to be able to just know that you have that go-to person, and I want to be that go-to person, because I've had those. So I want to be able to do that and kind of help them figure out what they can do, what they should do, just create a space for them to land and just kind of exist.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenge in HR right now is that, I will be honest, a lot of companies don't see the value in it, and that's always kind of tough to kind of highlight that value. But that, I think, would be the biggest challenge.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my work, I value the people piece above everything else. I love being able to bring somebody on board and see the joy and delight in people's eyes. I want to see people flourish and thrive. Even if you leave me and go beyond, I want you to go beyond what I'm giving you. I've really brought that coaching aspect into talent and hiring and career development. Outside of work, I love Pilates. I grew up doing competitive dancing, and Pilates was the one that we loved the most. I'm not such a Florida girl where if I'm not near water, I feel like I'm a fish out of water. I tell people I'm actually a mermaid because I have to be near an ocean. Brunch is my favorite thing, it's my favorite meal, I think it's the best thing ever created, so I'm a big bruncher. I love to read, I love music, and I think honestly just being with friends, family, enjoying, having that moment of community is also one of my favorite things to do.