Deñayna is a Primary Educator who has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience in teaching grades K-8, with a concentration in Middle School Mathematics and Special Education. Deñayna graduated from Smith College with a bachelor’s in Philosophy & Logic and has a dual master’s in Early Childhood Education and Special Education from Chestnut Hill College. Her career in education began as a 2009 Teach For America corp member in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she served as an elementary school special education teacher, ultimately hoping to pursue Criminal Law. Realizing the depths of the inequities and disparities in the quality of the education of children in her district, she became passionate about improving educational outcomes. Deñayna has since served students across Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York City, most recently serving as the Dean of STEM at PAVE Academy Charter School in New York. In this position, within her first year of leadership, she developed the math program and led her team to over 25% growth. For this accomplishment, she was recognized and nominated for the 2018 New York Teacher of the Year Award. As she continues to grow in her career, Deñayna aims to use her passion for developing teachers’ content knowledge, and her passion for ensuring students develop a love for math, to positively impact any educational environment she serves.