Dana Lopez, 43

Dana Lopez has always had the heart to give, and as she’s gotten older, her impact has grown in intensity. 

Her passion to give ignited in high school when she began volunteering on mission trips with her church. The more she participated, the harder it was to ignore the need she experienced firsthand. She developed a heart for social work and attended college to fulfill a career in both. It wasn’t until after she graduated and worked in Africa for a year that her true passion was cemented.

“I worked for a really large orphanage and I worked a program that helped prostitutes get off the streets and into more productive industries, so we allowed them to go through training and trade school, which, for women in that part of the country, wasn’t always available,” Lopez says. 

When she returned, she and her husband shifted gears. The California native moved to 417-land and decided to target the foster care system. She began a ministry, and she, her husband and both sets of their parents opened Dogwood Ranch, providing equine therapy and housing for foster kids in crisis. Since the ranch receives referrals from organizations across the region, there is almost always a waiting list but Lopez doesn’t let that intimidate her. Instead, it’s her motivation to help the greatest number of children.