Celebrating Women’s History Month with an Employee Spotlight on Dana Quigley, Sales Manager

Every year, March is designated Women’s History Month by a presidential proclamation that calls on us to study and celebrate women’s contributions throughout American history. At Bearingstar, we greatly admire all the women trailblazers, dreamers, leaders, and achievers. One of the ways we like to participate in this month-long celebration is by featuring an outstanding woman team member. Today, we’d like you to get to know Dana Quigley, Bearingstar’s sales manager. In her 12 years at the agency, Dana has made a lasting impression on customers and colleagues, and we are honored to share some of her story with you today.

Dana’s distinguished career at Bearingstar so far…

Dana joined Bearingstar in 2011 as an insurance consultant — in this role, she worked directly with our customers, helping countless people learn more about the insurance products they might require to safeguard the most important things in their lives. She always demonstrates a high level of resourcefulness, making sure no stone goes unturned during the insurance process, especially if it might help give a customer better service, solutions, or rates. Dana shows an incredible capacity for compassion and empathy—for Bearingstar customers and fellow colleagues alike—when they are going through a challenging time and need support. It is because of her strong values, her many years of experience, and the enormous passion she has for what she does that Dana earned a promotion to sales manager, overseeing all new Bearingstar insurance consultants under three years.

Dana’s advice for younger women just starting out is…

Whether their interest lies in insurance or another industry, Dana advises young women to take full advantage of any and all resources they can get their hands on—as early on as possible—to learn and network. In fact, Dana cannot emphasize the power of networking enough, and her specific advice is to “build your network early, stay connected, and continually grow it.” Additionally, Dana recommends finding a mentor, which she says can be extremely beneficial at any stage in your career. Dana encourages her younger colleagues to be open to receiving guidance from people who’ve gone before them and who might be able to show them the steps and introduce them to key people to help them get where they want to go. “Then,” she says, “pay it forward by being a mentor yourself.” In her role as sales manager, Dana embraces the opportunity to pass along what she has learned to younger professionals and support them in their growth.

A woman Dana looks up to is…

While Dana has many mentors within Bearingstar and throughout the insurance industry, a woman who has been a huge inspiration in her life is American professor, lecturer, author, and podcast host Brené Brown. Dana has read several of Brown’s books and specifically recommends Dare to Lead, which discusses how leaders should find and foster potential in others while also being fearless enough to have difficult conversations in a constructive way.  With Brown’s teachings always in mind, as well as the guidance of other strong, positive role models in her professional and personal life, Dana is continually building her confidence, optimism, and resilience.

A challenge Dana had to overcome was…

One of the most difficult challenges Dana faced was getting her Bachelor of Social Science and MBA as a non-traditional student while working and being a parent. She did a mix of night and online classes for her bachelor’s and completed her MBA online, proving that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible. “Once I became a parent I wanted to share my love of education, and I knew I had to show the hard work in order to instill the lesson…During that time there were many late nights spent writing papers and reading but it was all worth it in the end. Your education stays with you forever,” she says.

The accomplishment that brings Dana the most joy is… 

Dana is extremely proud to be a mom and is amazed every day at how her daughter has become such a strong and dedicated woman. (Of course, this doesn’t surprise the Bearingstar team, given that Dana is such a wonderful role model!) Dana admits the dynamic between mom and daughter has changed over the years, and rather than being the teacher and the one that is followed, Dana now finds she learns more and more from her child. While her daughter already has many educational and occupational accomplishments to her credit, what Dana most admires about her is the warm, loving person she is. A positive attitude and zest for life truly runs in this family!

What Dana does when she’s not working…

Dana primarily enjoys spending time with family and friends and traveling, often combining both passions. For example, she’s taken incredible trips to London and Italy with travel companions that have included her daughter, husband, cousins, and nephew. She treasures these experiences because, as she says, “life is all about the moments we share.”

We want to thank Dana for letting us celebrate her and all she has achieved during Women’s History Month. The Bearingstar team looks forward to sharing many more of life’s moments and making a lot more history with Dana in the future.