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Dana S. Burl

Director, Communications, Outreach, and Advocacy Program
Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs

Born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland, Ms. Burl began her service to the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs as the Director of Communications, Outreach, and Advocacy in October 2013.   In her role she oversees communications and public affairs for the Department.  She serves as the Secretary’s Designee to the Governor’s Commission on Suicide Prevention and the State’s Interagency Council on Homelessness.  Under her direction is the Maryland Veterans Service Animal Program and the Veteran Services Specialist Program.  She is currently the co-lead on the Maryland based Governor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide among Service Members, Veterans and Families.

She began her professional career in Delaware and served as an investigator with child protective services from 1997 to 1999.  Ms. Burl provided case management services at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center from 2000-2008, overseeing work release, intake and home detention populations. During her tenure with the Detention Center, she served as an adjunct instructor and field training officer. She taught suicide prevention in corrections as well as mental health and substance abuse in corrections in the entry level correctional training academy as well as the in-service training program.

Ms. Burl served as an adjunct professor at Baltimore City Community College from 2011 to 2012 and began her service to the veteran community in 2012 when she was hired as the central region resource coordinator with Maryland’s Behavioral Health Administration’s Maryland’s Commitment to Veterans Program.

She received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Delaware in 1997 and her master’s degree in psychology from Towson University in 2005.  A former military spouse, she lives in Anne Arundel County with her two sons.

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