Danya Pastuszek (she/her)
Danya is a mother, daughter, wife, sister, neighbour, community-builder, and runner – identities that have shaped her passion for belonging and financial inclusion in community. Her career has also included refugee resettlement and criminal justice reform. She spent a decade with the Promise Partnership of Salt Lake, co-designing school, neighbourhood, city, and regional partnerships advancing work on financial inclusion. From 2022 to 2024, she served as Co-CEO of the Tamarack Institute, an inaugural Schwab Foundation Collective Social Innovation Awardee, before being appointed President & CEO in December 2024.
I first got to know Tamarack in 2015, supporting partnerships to improve educational outcomes in Utah. Tamarack sparked thinking and action on how to center students and families with lived experiences of poverty and racism in reimagining K-12 education. The tools were practical and abundant. The stories prompted new ways of thinking. The invitations to act were focused and systems oriented.
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On April 22 – Earth Day – I was driving home after a big week. Tamarack partners, board members, team members, and friends had gathered to celebrate 20 years of learning and impact. Our growing team (less a few team members who could not travel) had just convened in person for the first time since I joined Tamarack in February. Tamarack’s board of directors had also met in person for the first time in two years, to thank retiring members and to welcome incoming members.
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