Dana White is a known figure within Republican circles: she served Senator John McCain (R-AZ) as a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. In 2008, Ms. White was the defense/foreign policy speechwriter at the Republican National Convention. During the convention, Ms. White was asked to serve full-time as a foreign policy adviser to the McCain-Palin 2008 campaign. After the campaign, Ms. White returned to the Armed Services Committee where she was promoted to minority staff lead for the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee.

Before joining the Armed Services Committee, Ms. White was an editorial writer at the Wall Street Journal based in Hong Kong. She focused on political and defense-related issues in the region. Prior to joining the Wall Street Journal, Ms. White received a political appointment as Country Director on the China Desk in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. As a Country Director, she reviewed and assessed military-to-military engagements with China and managed a robust security assistance program with Taiwan. Ms. White was awarded the Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service for her work. Prior to that, she served as director of the Washington Roundtable for Asia-Pacific Press at the Heritage Foundation.

Ms. White graduated from the University of Chicago with a concentration in East Asian Languages and Civilizations. She studied at Capital University for Economics and Business in Beijing and at Hankuk University in Seoul. She was awarded an MIT fellowship in international affairs and is scheduled to complete the program this spring.

Ms. White is proficient in Mandarin Chinese and has basic proficiency in Korean, Japanese and French. She is a USO volunteer and resides in Alexandria, Virginia.