BIOGRAPHY

Dana O'Neill is a full time professional realtor with over 10 years experience in the Santa Barbara real estate market. She is ranked in the top 3% of Prudential realtors nationwide. Dana and her team can be instrumental in helping you buy or sell property in Santa Barbara, Ventura or Santa Ynez.

As an Estates Director for Prudential California Realty, Dana represents a wide range of properties from grand estates and family compounds to cottages and condos.

As a Seniors Specialist (SRES) Dana can help you and your family members with the extra details and benefits that go into buying and selling for those in the 55 and older age bracket. Experienced in Probate Sales, 1031 Exchanges, multi-family transactions and the handling of special needs of older family members, Dana is someone you can rely on.

MEDIATION AND SALES BACKGROUND:

Dana worked as a mediator in Ventura County Superior Court in the family law department prior to entering the field of real estate. There she mediated settlement agreements, testified regularly and held seminars on the mediation process.

Dana also worked for 7 years as a medical sales representative in the San Francisco Bay Area. She worked in both regional and national sales.

EDUCATION:

Dana received her Master of Science degree from California State University at Northridge in Counseling Psychology. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Santa Barbara in Psychology.

PERSONAL:

Dana is a 4th generation Californian who combines a great love for real estate with a grand passion for the great outdoors. Dana is as enthusiastic about property as she is about living life to its fullest.

Having grown up in northern California, Dana spent a good amount of time roaming the wild Sierras and playing in the pounding cold surf of Santa Cruz. She got her first wetsuit in the second grade (lucky for her she comes from the O'Neill family that invented the wet suit) and has been off on adventures ever since.

After graduating from UCSB Dana took off for the Colorado Rockies and spent some quality time skiing, working as a wilderness instructor and partaking in numerous adventures. Her next stop was the San Francisco Bay Area where she began a successful career as a medical sales representative.

After 7 years in the competitive field of medical sales Dana decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of traveling around the world alone. She never got past South America. What with 20,000 foot peaks to ascend and rivers like the Amazon, a year was hardly enough!

Dana studied Spanish in Guatemala, kayaked, trekked and spelunked her way through the jungles of Costa Rica, climbed Cotopaxi (20,700 ft) and Chimborasu (19,783 ft) in Ecuador, went scuba diving off the coast of Honduras, twice hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru and visited Colca Canyon (deepest canyon in the world - twice as deep as the Grand Canyon) to hike and observe the Andean condors in flight. She boated on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, went up the Amazon on local transport, across the Pantanal (the world's biggest ecological sanctuary and largest wetland area) and partied in the streets of Bahia, Brazil during Carnival. From the jungles of Venezuela to the beaches of Brazil, from climbing in Argentina to the cafes in Chile - Dana had an adventure of a life time! After which she decided to "get serious".

Upon returning to the United States, Dana earned her Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology. She went to work for Ventura County Superior Court as a mediator in the family law department. Mediating settlement agreements was a challenging job that allowed Dana to use her extensive negotiating and people skills to their fullest.

That was until she had her two boys and learned what real negotiating was all about. The boys prompted Dana to rethink her job. As she had put herself through graduate school working in real estate and had been an investor herself for years, it was an easy decision to make real estate her career. It is the one thing that combines everything she is good at and loves.

When not at work, Dana and her husband, Robert Johnson, can be found with their two wild and wonderful boys, Luke and Dane, at soccer, basketball, hockey or some other kind of sporting or cultural event. That is if they're not scrambling over boulders, fording rivers or playing at the beach. “Work hard-Play hard” is the O'Neill-Johnson family motto!

Dana has a unique passion for life and a special gift of diplomacy and humor, which she has successfully incorporated in her real estate career. Dana has the goal of helping her clients make their next real estate purchase a smooth, successful transaction, and to continue enjoying the reasons why she moved to Santa Barbara in the first place. When you love what you do, the results speak for themselves.




"We have been involved in several real estate transactions over the years and worked with different realtors. We have never had one like you who went those extra 1,000 miles to assist and help us. Your untiring effort to make sure that all the large and small details were covered made the final closing an effortless occasion. Thank you, you were wonderful and we so appreciate everything you did for us."
- Ron and Jan Lee Miller

"Thank you for helping us through a complicated and stressful time. Your hard work and perseverance were very much appreciated. We were so impressed by how smoothly and professionally you handled both sides of the transaction. Excellent job!"
- Loretta Vogel

"Thank you Dana for the exceptional job you did in listing and selling my home. You were thoroughly professional and made the transaction easy. After 75 years of living in Santa Barbara, it was time to try a new place. You made the whole move enjoyable. Thank you so much."
- Bob Davis

"Everything was PERFECT."
- The Lewis's

"Dana is quick, precise, organized and friendly. She explained everything very well and has good energy!"
- The Bermudes