Daniela Burga

Born in Colombia, Daniela immigrated to the United States when she was nine years old, however it is quite possible she holds lingering resentment that this journey didn’t instead result in her landing, at least temporarily, at one of the Hogwarts Schools of Witchcraft and Wizarding (preferably Ravenclaw to be specific).

Alas, her early years took a different path and resulted in an impressive list of education accomplishments including a Bachelor’s in Psychology from UCONN and a Master’s in Human Resources Management from UCONN’s School of Business. Daniela has been able to weave her human resources expertise into her love for the tourism and hospitality industry, where she first started as a front desk agent at the Hilton Garden Inn in Norwalk in 2009. She quickly made a name for herself with the leadership at New Castle Hotels & Resorts, wearing a vast number of hats including administrative assistant, sales coordinator, benefits administrator, benefits manager, human resources manager, corporate director of human resources – all leading to her current role of Vice President, Human Resources for New Castle. In this position, Daniela is responsible for providing strategic leadership to the Human Resources function, as well as supporting the shared services platform by guiding the company & it’s properties through the competitive labor market and solving for any people & culture problems as they arise.

Her love of travel has taken her many places, but her favourite is London, England for the food (editor’s note: Daniela says she’s a “big foodie” but they think that’s questionable since she also identifies as a picky eater), culture and sites. After completing her master’s degree, her husband gifted her with a trip to London that centred around visiting the famous Harry Potter studio. She’s since returned this loving gesture by begrudgingly attending NY Knicks games to support his favourite team, even though she’s a die-hard Lakers fan.

An avid crafting fan, Daniela loves creating pieces for her friends and family, and continually finds ways to support the community either by assisting at food banks or supporting local charities that provide resources to young, single mothers.