Dayna Colbert-Dershem is a political strategist currently assisting state parties across the Midwest. She was the Executive Director of the Indiana Democratic Party for two and a half years, where she worked with two State Party Chairs to deploy the party’s strategy, manage daily operations, and drive the party’s growth. Before her time as Executive Director, she worked for a decade as a Project Manager, most recently an Operations Manager at a local market research company. In that role she worked with strategic clients or complex accounts to gather and analyze data to gain insights about customer relationships. Dayna also established, implemented, enforced, and adjusted processes and best practices across the company, and managed the Program Managers and Interns.
Dayna was the County Chair for the Hamilton County Democratic Party from 2021 to 2024, which made her one of the youngest and one of a handful of Black women chairs in Indiana at that time. In this volunteer role, she recruited and supported candidates for elected office; engaged and trained precinct chairs, committees, and volunteers; developed and executed robust Get Out The Vote activities; and more.
Prior to becoming County Chair, Dayna was the President of the Hamilton County Young Democrats (HCYD). She was elected the second President of HCYD when the chapter was three months old. Through her leadership, she recruited a robust Executive Committee who have since held roles in the Indiana Democratic Party and on various campaigns, including as campaign managers, volunteer coordinators, and candidates themselves. She was also the 5th District Chair for the Indiana Young Democrats.
Dayna has a Master of Science in Information and Communication Sciences and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, both from Ball State University. She currently lives in Fishers with her husband Aaron.