Dana Brownlee, MBA, PMP

Dana Brownlee founded Professionalism Matters, an Atlanta-based corporate training company, in 2003 after nearly a decade of Fortune 500 corporate experience in project management and business strategy consulting. She oversees this company, which offers courses specifically designed to provide best practices and techniques that participants can immediately apply in the workplace.

Her business expertise has been featured by CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Forbes Careers, Working Mother, and other notable publications. Brownlee is also the author of "The Unwritten Rules of Managing Up" published by Berrett-Koehler in 2019. A senior Contributor for Forbes Careers, she has addressed a variety of professional challenges and solutions through her publications and presentations.

A nationally recognized speaker, Brownlee speaks to groups large and small on a variety of topics including managing up, systemic racism, leadership, and building a culture of accountability in organizations. She has delivered presentations such as "The Unwritten Rules of Managing Up: Surviving the 'Difficult Boss'…and Thriving," "Let’s Talk About Systemic Racism, Unconscious Bias and Privilege," and "Secrets of the Thoroughbred Leader." Her talks also cover practical project management applications to enhance leadership skills, as well as facilitating skills in challenging meeting situations. Additionally, Brownlee actively promotes racial justice in the workplace and shares tactics for courageous workplace conversations about race.

Brownlee holds a BSIE, BS in mathematics, an MBA, and is PMP certified. Her academic background includes a PhD in Political Science from MIT and an M.Phil. in Russian Studies from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. She continues to impact a wide range of industries and audiences with her insightful and transformative discussions.