This Work Is Personal.
And It’s Strategic.
Dr. Daye is a nationally minded youth systems strategist whose work bridges lived experience, leadership, and performance improvement to help communities redesign how young people are supported through critical life transitions.
I’ve lived the transition.
Then I learned how to lead it.
Long before graduation, I was a high-achieving high school student with big dreams and very little guidance on how to reach them. On paper, I was doing everything right. In reality, I was carrying questions about identity, possibility, and next steps that no one was asking out loud.
The expectation was simple: she’ll figure it out.
But the journey of figuring it out quietly, internally, and without a roadmap is taxing. It requires young people to navigate pressure, uncertainty, and self-doubt while still being seen as “fine.”
That experience shaped how I see youth transitions today. I know firsthand that readiness isn’t something that magically appears at graduation. It’s built or missed in the years leading up to it.
I’ve lived youth transition from every angle as a student, as a parent of college students, and as a senior leader inside youth-serving systems. That layered perspective is what grounds my work now. I don’t approach youth readiness as a theory or a talking point. I approach it as a reality systems must prepare for long before the ceremony.
I don’t just talk about systems.
I build them.
Over the last two decades, I’ve led and supported youth work across education, nonprofit, and community systems. As Director of Operations for a multi-service youth organization, I’ve overseen programs, staff, budgets, compliance, and outcomes not from a distance, but from inside the work.
Beyond operations, I’ve created platforms and frameworks that help adults see youth more clearly and act more intentionally:
Beyond operations, I've created platforms and frameworks that help adults see youth more clearly and act more intentional
This work lives at the intersection of insight and execution. Every tool I build exists because a system needed clarity not theory.
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Designed and led female empowerment conferences for nine consecutive years
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Created and scaled youth programs centered on identity, voice, and readiness
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Collaborated with Cornell University to author a youth transition practice guide
Produced two documentaries elevating youth and community voice
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Developed SEE360™, a leadership intelligence framework for youth systems
Created FutureU Finder, an identity-informed transition tool that goes beyond surface-level assessment
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My work is grounded in performance improvement leadership.
I hold a doctorate in education with a specialization in performance improvement leadership. That training shapes how I approach every engagement helping leaders move systems from their current reality to their desired reality with intention, data, and accountability.
I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions or trend-based interventions. I believe in:
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diagnosing systems honestly
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elevating youth voice as data
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aligning adults around shared responsibility
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and building structures that actually work
This is where strategy meets humanity.
Youth transitions are a system responsibility.
Young people are navigating identity, belonging, and life decisions in a world that is more complex than ever. When systems rely on surface indicators or fragmented approaches, they miss what actually drives readiness and long-term success.
My work exists to change that.
I partner with leaders who are ready to move beyond assumptions and lead with clarity — building systems that reflect the full reality of the young people they serve.
