Dana Topousis is UC Davis’ chief marketing and communications officer and oversees Strategic Communications for both the Davis and Sacramento campuses. She is a member of the Chancellor’s Leadership Council. In 2020, Dana was named by the PRNEWS Group industry association as a “Top Woman in PR” after being nominated by Chancellor Gary S. May.

Dana's team is a multi-year, multi-award winning one for their efforts in social media, marketing, executive communications, multimedia storytelling, newswriting, and more. 

Dana served as chair of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Council on Strategic Communications from 2019-2021.

Prior to joining UC Davis, Dana directed public affairs at the National Science Foundation, where she and her team launched and expanded a variety of science communication and social media platforms, created the agency’s first free iPad app, and developed the agency’s first public communications and media policy. She also accompanied journalists to Antarctica and participated in the launch of a $200 million research vessel.

She worked as the first communications director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Protected Areas Center. She is proud to have served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya, where she worked with a microcredit organization in a small community outside Nairobi.