Daniela Hurtado is a dynamic leader with ten years of experience working in the nonprofit sector. Her work focuses on the empowerment of underserved communities through food, leading change and building engagement. As the Director of Operations & Programs of Kitchen of Purpose, Daniela ensures the organization’s standards are met and that the services offered by the organization have a positive impact in the lives of their clients.
In the earlier years of her career, Daniela obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts at Le Cordon Bleu in Lima, Peru, graduating with honors in 2005. After two years of working in some of the best restaurants in Lima, she was offered to direct the culinary program of a newly founded cooking school, marking the beginning of her experience in the educational field.
In 2010, Daniela moved to New York City and continued to strengthen her career in the culinary education field working as a culinary instructor at the renowned Institute of Culinary Education. At the same time, she also worked for top restaurants in the city such as the legendary Russian Tea Room and Gaston Acurio’s La Mar Cevicheria, amongst others.
After Daniela moved to Washington, DC, she started exploring opportunities in the nonprofit sector and began working with DC Central Kitchen, an organization that uses food as a tool to educate and to generate employment in marginalized neighborhoods. She started as a lead culinary instructor and later became the manager of the culinary job training program. This experience marked the beginning of her immersion in the nonprofit sector.
She also worked as a Culinary Educator consultant for the Service Workers Training and Education Partnership Fund (STEP) and taught recreational cooking classes at L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, MD for three years.
In 2015, Daniela was selected to be part of an art exhibition called “Women Chefs, Artists in the Kitchen” at the Strathmore Mansion in Maryland, which highlighted the impact of the work that women chefs are doing in the tri-state area.
Daniela joined Kitchen of Purpose in 2017. Since then, she has been committed to dedicating her life’s work towards using the superpowers of food to create advancement opportunities for disadvantaged communities. To further her education, she completed the Leadership Greater Washington’s Rising Leaders program and the Non-profit Leadership Boot Camp at Montgomery College. Daniela has also attained an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management, by Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership, where she increased her knowledge in nonprofit management and strengthened her natural leadership skills.