Darya is passionate about the advancement of women. In 2013, she co-founded Women Founders Network (WFN) as a virtual accelerator whose goal is to connect women founders not only with the required capital but also with the resources, connections, mentorship and sponsorship they need to grow scalable, successful businesses. Since 2013, WFN and its members have awarded and invested over $1.5M in cash and services to women founders and alumni have raised over $100M in funding. Subsequently, Darya founded the nonprofit Women Founders Foundation (WFF) in 2017, with a mission of educating women and girls about entrepreneurship to inspire the next generation of women founders and investors. In 2022, WFN and WFF merged as one nonprofit organization focused on providing support and resources for female founders, and educating women & young women on entrepreneurship and investing.

 

Darya has been recognized for her community work and the advancement of women by the LABJ and California Women Lead. She currently serves on the Board of the Los Angeles Westside YMCA. Darya earned her BA from Kalamazoo College, Certificate in Accounting from Northwestern University, and her MBA in Finance from Fordham University.