Kaya facilitates Coro’s industry-focused cohorts, the Climate Resilience Leadership Network and Housing and Houselessness Leadership Network, as well as the Youth Fellows Program and Board Leadership Training Accelerator. Her past work in communication and community leadership give her a unique perspective on the potential of cross-ideological collaboration and the benefits of building social capital within cohort learning.
Before joining Coro California, Kaya was the Executive Director of Leadership Pasadena, a community leadership development organization with a personal impact and community collaboration mission. During her time in that role, she worked to diversify the perspectives brought into the curriculum and broaden the types of leaders represented within the cohorts to include more Millennial and BIPOC participation and increase opportunities for youth voices.
Kaya has a BS in Communications from Boston University and spent 15 years at advertising agencies like Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and 72andSunny, working on strategic business problems. She shifted her focus to addressing human problems, pursuing a Master’s in Human Development at Pacific Oaks College with a concentration in social change. She grew up in Hawaii, often hiking barefoot in the mud or sailing, and looks for opportunities to be in nature in her spare time (which is limited given the attention required for her two children, two dogs, cat, and hamster).