Dayanna Torres

Born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx, New York. Dayanna Torres is a first generation Dominican American, with over 15 years of experience in social impact, spearheading new public and private initiatives to increase access, resources and economic opportunity for historically excluded communities. She has worked in Higher Education, Non-Profit, Government and Corporate Philanthropy and is the Founder and Principal of Evolucionada Consulting, LLC. She brings a passion for systems change and community investment for a more just and equitable society and is on a mission to catalyze stakeholders across sectors to develop and execute inclusive strategies and partnerships to scale impact through economic development, education & training, talent pipeline solutions, financial capability, small business development and entrepreneurship. Before launching her consulting business, Dayanna was a Director at Blackstone Charitable Foundation where she managed a national grantee portfolio of 50 entrepreneurship programs in public and private colleges and universities; including community colleges, HBCUs and MSIs establishing a network focused on $40M commitment to equipping a more diverse set of students with entrepreneurial mindset, skills, resources, and social capital to help launch successful careers/businesses.

Prior to Blackstone, she worked for a non -profit intermediary playing a leading role in working with local communities to develop new workforce development and economic development partnerships and investment solutions responsive to the unique needs of the people and small businesses in underserved neighborhoods. Earlier in her career, she held roles at complex public institutions from launching partnerships and initiatives to spur inclusive economic growth at NYCEDC, to connecting public housing residents to financial empowerment, entrepreneurship, and workforce development opportunities while at NYCHA, to providing undergraduate counseling and founding a Single Stop site at CUNY to bridge the access to financial, social services, and legal resources for first generation college students. Dayanna learned the value of purpose driven collaborations at her first job at Catholic Charities Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentoring Children of Prisoners Program, where she
established partnerships with the Department of Corrections and community-based organizations to connect families impacted by the criminal justice system to resources and youth mentorship.