Danya Torp serves as Head Start WEST’s Program Manager of Membership Engagement & Communications, where she brings together her love of storytelling, human connection, and community-building to support the Head Start community across the West.

Danya’s path to Head Start WEST has been shaped by a career centered on connecting people with one another and with the resources they need to thrive. Before joining Head Start WEST, she spent more than two years with The Black American Chamber of Commerce, where she led and supported efforts to uplift and connect minority-owned businesses across Oregon. Her work included leading communications for a statewide grant program that distributed $500,000 to small businesses, as well as collaborating with agencies and community partners to create opportunities for networking, resource-sharing, and connection.

At the heart of Danya’s work is a belief in the power of a good story. She sees storytelling as a way to help people feel seen, build understanding, and remind us of the human beings behind the work. Whether she is writing, developing communications, supporting members, or creating opportunities for people to connect, she is always looking for the story that brings people closer together.

Her connection to early childhood education is personal, too. Danya is the daughter of a Montessori teacher and grew up around early education. The values of curiosity, independence, community, and meeting people where they are have been part of her life for as long as she can remember. Today, that foundation informs her deep belief in education justice and in the importance of ensuring that children, families, educators, and communities have the support and opportunities they deserve.

Danya is a graduate of Southern Oregon University, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with a performance emphasis. During her time at SOU, she developed a one-woman show exploring her experience as a Chilean-American woman reconciling with the complicated history of a country she loves deeply. The experience shaped the way she thinks about storytelling, identity, history, and the responsibility we have to listen to and share one another’s stories with care.

Danya approaches her work with integrity, curiosity, accountability, and kindness. She believes strong communities are built through genuine relationships and that meaningful work happens when people feel heard, supported, and connected. At Head Start WEST, she is proud to bring those values to a field that has been close to her heart from the very beginning.