Janethe Peña, Executive Director & Founder

Janethe Peña is the Founder and Executive Director of DC Doors, one of Washington, D.C.’s most trusted community-based organizations serving individuals experiencing homelessness. Under her leadership, DC Doors has grown from a grassroots initiative into a nationally recognized model of care, most notably through Zoe’s Drop-In Center, one of only three 24/7 comprehensive social-service hubs for homeless and at-risk youth in the United States. The center provides holistic, personalized support to nearly 2,000 young adults (ages 18–24) each year.

For two decades, Ms. Peña has been a tireless advocate for the city’s most vulnerable neighbors. She began her career as an outreach specialist, educating immigrant communities about their rights, and went on to dedicate years to housing and advocacy work for individuals experiencing homelessness. These efforts ultimately led to the founding of DC Doors in 2011.

Janethe’s professional commitment is deeply informed by her lived experience. She immigrated to the United States from Granada, Nicaragua, after her family fled civil war in the late 1970s. Growing up in a three-bedroom home with 14 family members shaped her lifelong passion for housing equity and family support, as she navigated poverty and housing insecurity firsthand.

Ms. Peña holds a Bachelor of Science from American University and a nonprofit executive management certificate from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Trinity Washington University.

Her personal motto is: “Do better today than you did yesterday; do better tomorrow than you did today.”