About the Owner Dana Stamos
Dana Stamos was born in Hollywood, California and she grew up in Tarzana, California. She was extremely blessed to be born into a wonderful, always involved family with parents, Jim and Joyce Van Schaack.
She attended the University of Redlands graduating with a B.A. Degree in English, and with minors in theater and religion. While attending Redlands, Dana participated in a foreign studies program, living in Salzburg, Austria. While there she studied European culture, art history, and the governments of Europe. During her junior year in college, she toured with an acting troupe, traveling in the United States and in Canada’s Newfoundland and the British Maritimes.
After graduation, Dana became the Awards Coordinator for R.I.M, a Hollywood company who produces millions of dollars in public service television and radio programming. As R.I.M. Awards Coordinator, Dana coordinated and helped produce the first R.I.M. Awards program shown on KABC Television. R.I.M. awards are similar to the Emmy’s or the Oscar’s, awarding quality media in television, motion pictures, art, music, and literature.
Dana Stamos has worked in public relations and as media coordinator for numerous organizations. She has organized major press events for key political figures, and has assisted in events coordinated by the White House Staff Office.
Dana has three grown children who were born in Santa Cruz, California. In Santa Cruz Dana owned and operated the Santa Cruz Fitness Center. In 1986 she moved to Reno, Nevada. She now resides between Reno and Laguna Niguel, California.
Dana has been the Area Director for Washoe County Special Olympics. She coordinated hundreds of athletes and coaches in 15 different sports and organized numerous local and state games. She was the Executive Director for the Reno Executive Club, planning events for hundreds of Reno’s top executives. She has also been President of the Sierra Nevada Chapter of the ASSOCIATION OF COREL ARTIST & DESIGNERS and a member of the local Craftman’s Club.
Dana has worked with computers for many years and has taught both MAC and PC based systems to people of all ages. She took a year off from her business and set up a computer lab for the teachers and students at a local elementary school as her way of contributing to education. She was then asked to work with all the computer teachers, helping them in their labs both as technical support and training.
Dana Stamos owns and operates Visual Impressions Digital Design & Imaging, a graphic design, digital imaging and web design company. She has been a CORELDRAW! instructor and part of COREL Corporation’s beta team for many years. Her clients include national companies like RMX, a UPS Company, for whom she has produced everything from business cards through full color brochures, trade show booth graphics, building signs and websites. She has produced menu’s and table tents for numerous restaurants and ads for companies like Enterprise Rent A Car, Red Robin and Crystal Springs Water Company. Dana has enjoyed designing and producing projects such as the Beat the Heat Contest for McDonald’s and KREN Television and she has designed everything from back stage passes for musicians like Dru Hill and for Budweiser, Coors and Planet Hollywood. She has even designed music CD’s. Visit Visual Impressions, Dana’s business website for examples of her work.
Dana has designed and created websites for many different types of companies including churches, law firms, artists, restaurants, doctors, children’s boutiques, dental companies, and bird toy companies.
Dana enjoys deep theological discussions. She has studied with the likes of Francis Schaeffer in Switzerland, and other well known Christian thinkers of this century from around the world, and she likes reading C. S. Lewis, George McDonald and many other great authors.
Dana is also a performance animation artist with CHOPS Live Animation, and does real time 3D character and 2D animation shows, that means its live, folks.
Dana Stamos owns Martial Arts Enterprises, the company that owns and operates USAdojo.com, MartialArtsEntertainement.com, the world’s largest, most visited, martial arts websites filled with information for anyone who wishes to learn more about her passion, the martial arts. She developed the MartialArtsSchoolDirectory.com or FindADojo.com, an online directory of schools, businesses, organizations and events. She originally owned and operates FightCon.com, a martial arts video website like YouTube, sharing thousands of martial arts videos and the UniversityMartialArts.com, a website that augments martial arts training with online video training including LearnTheSword.com where Dana Abbot teaches the Japanese sword.
Dana likes all kinds of extra curricular activities, but she loves martial arts. Dana has studied Tang Soo Do Karate, Danzan Ryu JuJitsu, Goju-Shorei Karate and Weapons, and she became a Black Belt in Isshin-ryu Karate-do, mixed with Ryukyu Kempo (Tomari-te), Kyusho-Jitsu, and Russian Martial Arts. She has also studied the Multi-Martial Arts System (MMAS) she was part of Doce Pares International.
Dana Stamos has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame including the 2003 Hawaii Martial Arts International Society Hall of Fame for her “Outstanding Contributions to the Martial Arts”, the 2008 Masters Hall of Fame for her “Outstanding Contributions to the Martial Arts” and into the Academy of Masters as a “Founding Member”. In 2009 she was inducted into the Universal Martial Arts Association Hall of Fame as “Woman of the Year”, and on September 7, 2013 she received the Martial Arts History Museum Honors Award. In 2014 she was inducted into GM Dave Johnson’s Elite Black Belt Hall of Fame and the same year she was inducted into Alan Goldberg’s Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honors, receiving the award for “Excellence in Promoting Martial Arts”. In 2016 she was inducted into the All-Pro Tae Kwon Do Hall of Fame.
