Dara Yin

Dara Yin is a Program Specialist at API RISE, the Lead Navigator for the Bridge Academy Movement at Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, and the Executive Director of Street Cred Education Consultants. He is also a husband, a father of four, a grandfather, and an advocate. Since coming home, Dara earned a Master’s in Education from the University of Southern California and now works closely with youth and adults re-entering the community after incarceration. His vision is to create jobs for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals—through both policy and nonprofit work.

Incarcerated in 2001 and sentenced to life without parole in 2002, Dara spent his first ten years inside without hope. A visit from his mother changed that, inspiring him to seek out education, leading to emotional growth and a whole shift in how he lived his life. Governor Gavin Newsom commuted his sentence in 2022.

Dara’s philosophy about life and leadership is that we must “seek to understand, be open to being wrong, and apply what you learn.”