Holding the Ph.D. in psychology, Dan Dana served for several years as a professor of organizational behavior at the University of Hartford (Connecticut) Graduate School of Business, and has held faculty appointments at Syracuse University and several other institutions. (A former student once called him "Doctor Conflict," and the moniker stuck!)

Dan founded Mediation Training Institute International in 1985 to expand global awareness and use of non-adversarial methods for managing human differences – in the workplace and beyond. He is the author of Managing Differences, the sourcebook of MTI’s seminars — published worldwide in six languages — and Conflict Resolution: Mediation Tools for Everyday Worklife, a featured book in the McGraw-Hill Briefcase Books series.

Upon Dan’s retirement in 2013, MTI was acquired by Eckerd College, St Petersburg, Florida.