Danya Shults is a Partner at Evolution, an executive coach, and an early stage startup advisor. She coaches leaders who want to learn and grow so they can live and lead in a more meaningful, effective, and healthy way. She supports founders and CEOs of early stage startups and rising executives at growth stage tech companies.
Danya’s hallmark is her capacity to hold and navigate the complexity – the “both, and” – of her clients’ identities, responsibilities, and contexts. She’s equally comfortable discussing stakeholders and offering somatic practices, reflecting on systems or spirituality, addressing what’s here right now and making space for what’s emerging. Danya’s approach melds warmth and pragmatism, curiosity and incisiveness, the tactical and the strategic, business and spirit.
Previously, Danya spent 15+ years building businesses, brands, teams, and communities from scratch and at scale across tech (Skillshare, Patreon), venture capital (Spark Capital), non-profit (Teach For America), and as the founder of a wellness & spirituality company (Arq).
Her offerings span individual and group coaching, workshops, presentations, team offsites, and strategic advising. She has designed and facilitated learning & development for hundreds of high-profile leaders, from venture-backed CEOs to internet creators and non-profit executives.
Danya received her coaching certification from New Ventures West and holds a B.A. in Anthropology, Spanish, and Music from Washington University in St. Louis. She was an inaugural On Being Fellow, has presented globally at Wisdom 2.0, The Conference in Malmö, and the University of California, Berkeley, and been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, The Atlantic, Thrive Global, and NPR.
Danya was born and raised in New England, lives with her husband and daughter in sunny Los Angeles, and has left pieces of her heart in Brooklyn and the south of Spain. She is slowly learning to surf and usually nurturing a passion project like LAFamilies.Bike.