Why Dana Dattola Joined the PCC Foundation

Pasadena City College alumna and PCC Foundation board member Dana Dattola is uniquely attuned to the needs of some of the San Gabriel Valley’s most prominent business communities. 

For the past 14 years, she served as a Certified Insurance Consultant (CIC) and Certified Risk Manager (CRM) for Weaver & Associates, Inc., and since 2019, she’s been an indispensable member of the Communications and Scholarship Committees for the PCC Foundation. 

Beginning in 2021, Dana took on a new role as head of the Foundation’s Risk Management Committee, which reviews contracts between the College and the Foundation. 

“The Foundation just recently took over the PCC Flea Market, for example,” Dana said. “And one of the things our committee will be doing is reviewing the risk management of the Market. Every couple of years, the College re-negotiates its contract with the Foundation, and the contract renewal is coming up again this year, so the Foundation asked me to lead the risk management committee, and the Flea Market is going to be one of the things we look at.”

In both her current and previous posts, Dana has played a leading role in coordinating support and community-based resources for PCC students. 

In fact, that’s the reason she joined the Foundation in the first place. 

“I had reached out to PCC years ago, interested in employing PCC students,” said Dana. “There’s a lot of employment opportunities in the San Gabriel Valley. But it wasn’t an easy process to connect with and hire PCC kids. So that’s part of why I wanted to get involved—to make it easier for students to find jobs locally.” 

Having attended PCC herself between 2003-2004, Dana has been a longtime admirer of the College. 

“I loved being a PCC student,” she said. “I had great professors there; I made wonderful friends.”

Dana eventually transferred to San Diego State University and graduated with her degree in business management in 2007. She transitioned into her career with Weaver & Associates—her grandfather’s insurance agency—shortly before throwing herself into various philanthropic endeavors, including her involvement with the Boys & Girls Club of the Foothills, Boss Ministries DTLA Homeless Outreach, and her family’s own nonprofit, Next Level Missions, which supports clean water projects, fair-trade coffee production, and child sponsorships that provide education and nutritional support to kids in remote Northern Hill Tribe villages in Thailand. 

“My family’s always been very involved in philanthropy,” Dana said. “It was never a question for us—you just help out, you take care of your community.”

Dana said she thinks there’s a big disconnect between students coming out of PCC and four-year schools and the rest of the business world. 

“So many of these kids think they need to go work for a Fortune 500 company in order to have a successful career,” she said. “That’s just not true. There are a ton of employers that provide great opportunities for those coming out of school. I’m in insurance; my clients are all business owners. I can tell you, there’s a huge need for PCC students in the region.”

She said it’s been incredibly moving to hear the stories of scholarship winners over the years. 

“I truly believe in the Foundation’s mission and appreciate all it does for students,” Dana said. “I want to be in a position to support students and guide them through their education. I want to help them find work and thrive in their community.”