Danielle Dignan

Danielle first came to NOLS on a Fall Semester in the Rockies in 1992, and again on a Rocky Mountain Instructor Course in 1995. She worked as a field instructor for a decade at various NOLS campuses, including Rocky Mountain, Alaska, Pacific Northwest, and Mexico, with most of her field weeks spent in Baja. Danielle served on the NOLS Advisory Council prior to joining the NOLS Board of Trustees in 2017.

Currently, Danielle is Chairman and a founding partner of DM Development, a San Francisco-based real estate development and investment firm focused on high-design urban infill projects in California. Prior to her real estate endeavors, and in addition to her NOLS work, Danielle wrote professionally for sailing magazines and taught offshore sail training. She is a USCG licensed captain and has a BA in history from the University of Rhode Island, where she rowed crew. Danielle also serves on the board of the San Francisco Waldorf School.

Danielle lives in San Francisco with her husband, Dan Zuiches, and their two children, Eleanor and Jameson. After meeting Danielle, and with a shared enthusiasm for the outdoors, Dan took a NOLS Sailing Instructor Course in Mexico, after which Danielle and Dan completed a year-long circumnavigation of the Pacific. Today they enjoy bringing their kids into the wilderness and putting their NOLS expedition training to good use. Danielle is also passionate about tennis and surfing, and spends as much time as possible on the southern coast of Maine.