Page 1 of 4 · / ORIGINSTORY
It started with a year away.
Only by leaving the system could our founder see it clearly.
What she brought back became Onda.
OUR STORY
In 2023, our founder and her husband took their two young kids around the world for a year. They saw breathtaking beauty and profound hardship, often in the same week.
She came home with a questions she couldn't ignore: Why do we treat exhaustion as the price of meaningful work? What would the world be like if we all bravely pursued our dreams and served with authenticity and joy?
Her husband, Eric, spent the height of COVID practicing internal medicine as a doctor at the VA. What those years asked of him, and of every clinician she knew, made the cost impossible to unsee. As a board-certified genetic counselor, Daniela already knew the science of well-being was real and well-studied. She also knew it was almost entirely missing from the professional fields that need it most.
She had more to draw on than her two decades in genetic counseling: Years as Creative Director for S.O.U.L. Foundation, a Uganda-based nonprofit, where she led women's entrepreneurial initiatives rooted in community and creativity. Teaching painting classes at Canvas & Cocktails. Facilitating a monthly women's circle.
The О̄nda Collective grew out of all of it: An evidence-based platform and community built for professionals who want purpose and peace in the same career.
“When we choose our well-being, we don't just recharge. We reconnect with ourselves, and from that place we become genuine agents of change.”
DANIELA YOUNG · FOUNDER
THE NAME
О̄nda means wave.
Pronounced О̄nda, [Spanish], it carries three meanings, and each one maps to a value we build on:
Showing up as ourselves is what sets the tone.
vibe · authenticity
Acting in alignment with our authenticity takes courage. That's the wave.
wave · bravery
The wave generates ripples of positive impact in our lives, offices, communities and planet.
ripple · impact
WHO WE ARE
Meet the team.
Daniela Young, MS, CGC
FOUNDER | DIRECTOR | FACILITATOR
Daniela is a genetic counselor with over 15 years in reproductive genetics, and a counselor before anything else. Colleagues describe her presence as magnetic, the kind that draws a room together and makes honest conversation feel easy. Her facilitation is shaped by years of creative leadership, from directing women's entrepreneurial initiatives with an African-based non-profit to teaching painting classes and facilitating a monthly women's circle. At О̄nda, she pairs evidence-based science with the rare ability to make a workshop feel like a gathering of friends. You'll find her adding sprinkles to her morning coffee for a micro dose of joy, on a grand adventure holding her husband's hand, or snuggled up with her family watching Ted Lasso.
Heidi Hernandez, BS
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Heidi keeps the waves at О̄nda moving in the right direction. She manages the moving parts behind our retreats and programs. With a background in psychology and business, she brings organized calm, creative energy, and spreadsheet wizardry to everything she touches. When she's not color-coding a tracking system, you'll find her baking, hosting reality TV watch parties, and dancing ballet folklórico.
Jack Emery
MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA CONTRIBUTOR
Jack brings О̄nda's story to your feed. Originally from the UK and now based in Costa Rica where he runs his own ecotourism company, Jack knows a thing or two about helping people slow down and reconnect with what matters. He helps craft our social media and marketing with the same spirit he brings to the rainforest: curiosity, adventure, and a good eye for the moment worth sharing. When he's not working on an О̄nda post he can be found rescuing sea turtles.
Seriously.
Dana Goodloe, MPH, MS, CGC
RETREAT CONTRIBUTOR
Dana is a genetic counselor and clinical lead of the genetics department at UAB, where she balances a heavy clinic schedule with managing a large team of GCs. She is full of southern charm and isn't afraid to call out the antiquated policies and systems that fail to support our mental, emotional, and physical health as genetic counselors. Equal parts advocate and comedian, she believes a sustainable profession requires both honest conversations and a good laugh, ideally in the same meeting. And on fall Saturdays? She's a season ticket holder at Auburn, in the stands with her family, fully invested.
Emma Marsh, MS, CGC
RETREAT & RESEARCH CONTRIBUTOR
Emma is a prenatal genetic counselor practicing Salt Lake City, where she supports women and families through their reproductive journeys. Her graduate research explored the well-being benefits of peer supervision for genetic counselors, work that reflects her deeper commitment: keeping our profession sustainable and thriving. At О̄nda, Emma brings both the researcher's eye and the clinician's heart to helping colleagues care for themselves as well as they care for their patients. Off the clock, she's reading, playing board games, or outdoors exploring everything Utah has to offer.
Damara Hamlin-Vaughn, MS, CGC
RETREAT CONTRIBUTOR
Damara is a genetic counselor at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX and a contract genetic counselor at Tandem Genetics. She cares deeply about not just taking care of her patients but also recognizing and promoting better ways we healthcare professionals can take care of ourselves and each other. She has experience in the clinical genetics space across multiple specialties and can honestly not pick a favorite. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, and exploring new places. Her guilty pleasure- chocolate chip cookies and binging “reality” TV.