Dana Rashti

Dana Rashti brings more than 30 years of experience in strategic planning, marketing, corporate communication, and organizational development in the health care and finance sectors. In his career he focused on accelerating revenue growth, building customer-centric brands, and guiding companies through periods of transformation. 

Dana first learned about FriendshipWorks through an article in the New York Times in the summer of 2023. The article focused on the issue of social isolation among elders, and FriendshipWorks was mentioned as an innovative organization that has made a difference for its constituents.

Its mission resonated with him partly because of his mother’s experience. When he joined the Board in January 2024, his mother had just turned 103. “Fortunately, she was relatively healthy and was able to live independently, but she had outlived most of her friends. I could see the impact that loneliness was having on her quality of life. I wished she had had an organization like FriendshipWorks where she lived, to help bring more joy to her final years,” Dana says. 

Dana knew he wanted to help support FriendshipWorks and grow its reach. His prior board experience includes serving on the Board of Overseers for the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Board of Trustees for the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts, and the Boards of Directors for the Ad Club of Boston, the Boston Public Market Association, and Cambridge Art Association.

At FriendshipWorks, he is a volunteer in its Medical Escort program, and recently served as co-chair of the Selection Committee for the new Executive Director. “My vision for Friendship works is to have the capacity to serve an ever-growing number of elders, across all demographic segments, with innovative, meaningful programming. The need is only going to grow,” Dana says.

Dana’s other interests include painting, photography, learning Italian, traveling, cooking, and taking care of his small, mischievous dog. He lives in Jamaica Plain and on Cape Cod.