About Dana Eikenberg: Operations & Team Leadership

Dana Eikenberg has spent her career building teams, solving problems, and helping people perform at their best — whether on the basketball court, inside a business, or around a dinner table.

With more than twenty years of leadership experience across athletics, hospitality, and community organizations, Dana is known for bringing energy, honesty, and a steady hand to whatever challenge is in front of her. She believes great teams are built on trust, clear communication, and leaders who roll up their sleeves and work alongside the people they lead.

Dana is the co-founder of One and Done with Cookie, a boutique catering and event company based in Southwest Florida. What started as a simple idea — cook great food and take exceptional care of people — has grown into a sought-after catering experience producing private and luxury events through word-of-mouth and trusted relationships. 

Dana focuses on the operational side of the business, ensuring every event runs smoothly behind the scenes so guests can relax and enjoy the evening.

Before starting the company, Dana spent several years working in senior living communities, where she led operations and engagement programs designed to help residents stay active, connected, and supported. During her time at American House Coconut Point, she helped guide the community through the full evacuation and recovery from Hurricane Irma — an experience that reinforced her belief that leadership matters most when things become uncertain. 

Earlier in her career, Dana served as a Division I women’s basketball head coach, leading programs at Southern Illinois University and the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Coaching taught her lessons that still guide her today — how to build trust, communicate clearly, stay steady under pressure, and help people believe in themselves.

Those same lessons from the court now shape how Dana runs One and Done with Cookie. She believes great teams — whether in sports, business, or the kitchen — are built the same way: with respect, accountability, and people who genuinely care about the experience they create together.

Dana is also the author of the children’s book Hank the Brave, inspired by the true story of her boxer dog Hank and his very big fear of a very tiny fly. The story explores courage, reassurance, and the quiet ways in which love and support help us face what scares us.

Through her work, her writing, and the experiences she creates, Dana continues to explore a simple idea: courage shows up in many forms — sometimes in big decisions, sometimes in small steps forward, and sometimes in the everyday moments that remind us we are stronger than we think.