Where clear expectations, thoughtful coaching,
and operational excellence come together.
Leadership That Elevates People and Performance
My Leadership Philosophy
I lead with clarity, curiosity, and genuine care for the people I support. My goal is to create an environment where designers, trainers, and cross-functional partners do their best work through structure, transparency, trust, and shared accountability.
I believe leadership is about removing obstacles, empowering others, and helping people become more confident, capable, and connected to their impact. I set high standards, coach thoughtfully, and build systems that make great work repeatable.
When I realized I needed to lead
Early in my time at Yahoo, I visited our team in the Buffalo office; many of whom were transitioning into instructional design for the first time. I spent time listening, teaching design principles, walking through tools, and helping them see new possibilities in their content.
What stood out wasn’t the curriculum. It was their enthusiasm to learn, their thoughtful questions, and how much they appreciated someone investing in their growth.
That experience made something clear:
I needed to lead.
Soon after, I was promoted; confirmation of the leader I was becoming. That moment continues to guide how I coach, support, and develop people today.
Leadership Principals
Clarity Before Action:
I define success, align expectations, and remove ambiguity so teams can move quickly and confidently.
Coaching as a Growth Engine:
I develop people through thoughtful questions, honest feedback, and stretch opportunities that accelerate readiness.
High Standards, High Support:
I expect excellence and provide the structure, tools, and guidance that help teams achieve it.
Collaboration Over Silos:
I partner across functions to streamline work, strengthen alignment, and deliver consistent results.
Empowerment Through Trust:
I give designers and trainers ownership, space to experiment, and the confidence to make meaningful decisions.
"Dayna has been a great manager to me and has been very instrumental in my success and overcoming adversity in the past year. She noticed I was struggling personally and worked to make sure I wasn't just good professionally, but on a personal level as well. She's helped me develop personalized systems and organizational techniques that I've implemented to help overcome some of my weaknesses and hardships in the work from home environment. I've since started to be efficient and less overwhelmed during my workdays. She constantly gives me props and feedback on what I'm doing well and where I can improve and it's never framed in a negative way. This has given me a big boost in confidence and a better mindset going into work each day.
She also is very active in offering suggestions, tips or just a helping hand in any project I'm involved with. We work together to brainstorm and nail down what needs to be done for projects and if we encounter an issue, she will go above and beyond to help solve the problem or find the steps needed to reach a solution.
I appreciate her not only as a manager but a person as well. She genuinely cares about us as humans and not just coworkers and I feel like that's worth a lot and you don't find that at every job. She really cares about our success in both our careers and lives in general and offers anything she can to help us achieve our goals."
Testimonial from Direct Report
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Chief of Staff
AOL & Member Services
Leadership alignment, culture building, and operational strategy
As Chief of Staff, I supported the GM and executive leadership team with communication, staffing alignment, and cross-functional coordination. I partnered with HR, Finance, Operations, and Legal to streamline hiring processes, maintain headcount accuracy, and ensure leaders had visibility into priorities and decisions.
I also redesigned the All Hands experience into a high-quality, high-engagement event that strengthened culture and connection across the organization.
Impact:
• Increased clarity and alignment across leadership
• Strengthened culture-building initiatives and communications
• Improved hiring and staffing workflows for our leaders creating job requisitions
• Expanded strategic and organizational leadership experience
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Instructional
Design
Manager
Driving clarity, elevating standards, and developing a high-performing ID team
I strengthened our instructional design team by coaching IDs, improving standards, and ensuring every solution was clear, consistent, and aligned to business goals. I guided the team through major curriculum rebuilds — Accounts, Plans & Subs, Soft Skills, and UNI — developing reusable templates and sharper program structures.
Impact:
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27% increase in key product sales after the redesigned Accounts + Plans & Subscriptions program.
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22.7% reduction in training time (16.5 hours → 12.75 hours), saving agents time and increasing productivity.
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$56,000 savings across 1,000+ new hires due to reduced training time.
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$26,900 in annual savings due to streamlined curriculum and optimized delivery.
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Moved NPS from neutral to positive.
Yahoo for Good Day Leadership:
Cystinosis.org
Leading global volunteer teams to create meaningful impact
I led cross-functional volunteer teams to support the Cystinosis Research Network through digital content creation, website enhancements, and awareness campaigns. These projects brought together talented people across Yahoo who may not normally work together and the results exceeded every expectation.
Impact:
• Led 30+ volunteers each year
• Produced high-impact digital assets used by families and donors
• Strengthened community awareness for a rare disease
• Created meaningful, purpose-driven team experiences
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