Dani attended high school at Brooks School and became an athlete totally engaged in team sports. She played softball and field hockey and was coxswain for the rowing team. Dani spent her undergrad years in Rome, Italy where she majored in English discovering yet another passion in literature and writing. She also taught English to Italian children. In 2009 at the age of 23 she was living in Washington D.C. working for the Associated Press and juggling a second job as a waitress. One evening she slipped and fell in a bathroom breaking her neck at the C5-C6 level. A year later Dani moved to California where she was able to attend Project Walk. There she was acquainted with several Swim With Mike Scholarship Recipients (Jennifer BouLahoud, Patrick Ivison, Matt Thomas, Jessica Duhon) and a trainer who recommended that she apply for a scholarship. Her Masters in English along with a teaching credential will allow her to use her voice to teach while also continuing her writing career. Dani is a Renaissance woman and her current interests are disability advocacy, therapeutic horseback riding, painting and meditation.