SYNERGY - Juneteenth 2022

Kim Nyoni

Story By: Beth Herbert

Kim Nyoni has dedicated his professional and personal life to advancing higher education through the power of philanthropy. He is part of a team that works to secure private funds that help universities fulfill their mission. Having spent his entire career in higher education advancement, Nyoni has helped numerous universities secure private contributions to fund scholarships, academic programs and capital enhancements.

Nyoni is a mission driven leader that see’s higher education as his calling to pay back to the country that gave him an opportunity for a new life. He strongly believes in being intentionally people focused and is deeply committed to the professional growth of his teams. Similarly, as a former member of the Rotary Club of Las Vegas and now the Rotary Club of Gainesville, Nyoni spends time serving the community through youth mentoring programs and a variety of community building initiatives.

Originally from Tanzania, Nyoni relocated to Nebraska where he attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and earned his Bachelor’s in Journalism and Master’s in Advertising. He began his career at the University of California-Berkeley in the Office of Development & Alumni Relations for the Haas School of Business; today, he serves as Assistant Vice President of Development with the University of Florida Foundation, a role he started almost a year ago.

His achievements and accomplishments thus far are inspired by the life journey of his parents from their humble beginnings in Tanzania. Additionally, he credits his current and previous supervisors, alumni and friends of various institutions that he has served, as well as current and former team members for their belief in him and that has allowed him to best serve institutions in a meaningful way.

His parents instilled in him the value of hard work. His experiences as an immigrant forged his desire to be an agent of positive change. At a young age, Nyoni was always one to seek challenges and strive to make a difference. He was raised to feel comfortable as a problem solver and has been motivated by his innate desire to positively impact the lives of others. He credits the University of California-Berkeley’s mission focused culture as the foundation for who he has become as a leader in higher education.

At the core of his leadership philosophy is an intense focus on people. Nyoni believes that any business cannot be successful without its people. Behind every metric and productivity measure are people. He sees his role as a leader is to look after the best interests of his teams holistically by creating an environment that fosters growth and fulfillment; he found that he can only be as successful as those he works with and works to serve.

As a leader in higher education advancement, he has worked through periods of high turnover in university leadership, navigated the social justice movement and its impact in higher education, as well as the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nyoni sees these challenges as silver linings that contributed to his growth professionally and informed his leadership and management perspectives. They were a series of experiences that provided hands-on experience in change management, leading teams through crises, and focusing on productivity without sacrificing the soul of the organization, which is people. He has learned to understand the importance of acknowledging the moment and becoming a solution provider to the institution, students, and faculty that he serves. Though he has called Gainesville home for a short period of time, he has found it to be a very welcoming community; he is eager for all future opportunities to do good and invest in the community. Of particular interest to Nyoni are opportunities to foster socioeconomic development in low income communities, improving public education and healthcare access. He also enjoys mentoring youths and has had opportunities to mentor youths in Gainesville as well as Las Vegas. Nyoni believes that at the core of leadership is the notion of being a servant, and it is an immense responsibility. Leaders are responsible for the lives of those they are called to serve, and every decision has an impact on changing someone’s life for good or bad. He advises others to go into leadership with a firm understanding that leadership is about people; this understanding will help you inspire great actions, productivity and foster positive environments, especially if your mission as a human aligns with the mission of the organization you lead.