Dana Paycao

Dana Paycao is the Senior Policy Associate on the Mental Health team at the National Center for Youth Law. Dana's work is focused on advancing mental health care and promoting healthy equity for children and youth in California, through research and advocacy. She works on expanding the mental health team's youth engagement, policy development, and advocacy work through connecting and collaborating with internal and external partners like community stakeholders, elected officials, and advocacy coalitions. 

Dana brings experience in community-based participatory research, survey research, and mental health advocacy through her work at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the Filipino Family Health Initiative. Dana received her master's in publich health in community health sciences and a bachelor's in anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles. 

Through her volunteer work in a mobile clinic and with high school students, Dana has seen the impact that mental health can have on overall well-being. To support her own mental well-being, Dana enjoys cooking, finding new restaurants, hiking, and singing out loud whenever possible.