Darya Nachinkina

Manager, Bridgespan Group

Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship awarded in 2012 to pursue an MBA in Business at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Darya Nachinkina is an immigrant from Russia.

About Darya Nachinkina

DARYA NACHINKINA was born in Moscow, Darya was only nine years old when the Soviet Union collapsed. In the dark days and economic turmoil that followed, her school's administrative principal brazenly decided to sell the gold medal she had won for outstanding academics to the family of a C student. Darya's appeal to the Department of Education persuaded it to intervene and restore the medal to her.

She immigrated to the US at age 19, won admission to Harvard University, and graduated summa cum laude with a major in government. Two years later she earned her MPA at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Having started her career at McKinsey & Company, Darya was selected for the Firm's year-long Social Sector Fellowship, which allowed her to work exclusively with social-sector clients. Eager to continue working in the sector, Darya then joined Bridgespan, a nonprofit consulting group. While at Bridgespan, Darya has worked with a range of nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, including leading a cohort of CEOs through a strategic business planning process.

Darya is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Arts for Crafts, which partners with artists to sell their work. The proceeds are used to purchase craft supplies for Russian orphans. Darya will pursue an MBA at MIT's Sloan School of Management.