I was struck by Dayna’s affability and frankly in awe of her vulnerability in sharing such delicate experiences in an empowering way. She was incredibly responsible throughout the planning process, making our partnership seamless. I was blown away by Dayna’s ability to foster such an open environment for a group of 15. Dayna carefully wove in metaphors throughout her script which fostered robust group participation and gave a very heavy conversation a playful and silly component didn’t, etc. Dayna believes that food is something that unifies us and is easy to talk about, and I attribute the success of this powerful experience to her ability to weave references to mental health into every step of the recipes. She is incredible to work with.
-Illana Gensler, Northeastern University
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month this past May, Dayna led an interactive cooking demonstration for interested members of City Year’s corps, staff, and alumni communities during which she shared her mental health recovery story while baking. Dayna’s ability to be vulnerable, informative, and relatable while sharing her personal journey helped our people to feel validated and seen in their own journeys. I would be remiss if I did not share that Dayna has an uncanny ability to convey light and joy when presenting and communicating. Exploring topics related to mental health and well-being can be very heavy for folks and Dayna’s warm and humanizing presence helps people to feel supported and empowered in vulnerable spaces.
-Allison Hertz, City Year
