We are very excited to announce that our Board of Directors has named Nadia Kist as our next Executive Director. Nadia brings 12 years of experience with Blood:Water, including the past 7 years overseeing all programs and leading our Nairobi operations as the Director of Africa Partnerships. Under her leadership, we brought our partnership model to its full expression including launching The Leader Collective, a community of practice for our partners and other aligned organizations to build community, foster peer learning and share expertise across the continent.
Our current Executive Director Jake Smith shared: “The most fulfilling part of leadership is knowing when to step aside and pass the torch. In Nadia, I see not just a colleague I’ve trusted and admired for years, but a visionary who brings the perfect blend of heart and strategic brilliance to this work. I’m stepping away with full confidence that Blood:Water’s greatest impact lies ahead under her guidance.”
Nadia is a leader in global health philanthropy with over 20 years of experience leading HIV-focused programs and organizations. Her career spans a diverse body of work with academia, government, and faith and civil society institutions supporting efforts in 10 countries on the continent.
Prior to joining Blood:Water, Nadia served as Technical Advisor to multiple international organizations scaling national community health systems and access to the HIV/AIDS care continuum. She’s also the co-founder of Seeds for Hope (SFH), a youth-focused charitable trust expanding access to formal education through academic scholarships in Kenya. Her work has shaped national health policies and informed codes of conduct that challenge power imbalances in funding practices.
She serves as a board member of the East Africa Philanthropy Network (EAPN), and is an active member of the African Philanthropy Forum, Catalyst Now, and the Network of Engaged International Donors (NEID) championing partnership models that elevate the expertise and vision of community led-organizations and their leaders.
“I am honored to lead Blood:Water at such a critical moment in time for our organization and for the partners that we exist to serve. Never before has our call to action been so important and so urgent. As we look ahead to the evolving landscape of global health, I remain so deeply inspired and affirmed by the 20 year legacy of advancing community-led resilience that we carry forward with us. At a time when so many are turning away, we are stepping forward to widen our reach and deepen our impact. This is our founding story. This is our reason for being.
I want to express my profound gratitude to our partners and staff for their continued dedication, to Jake for his unwavering and whole-hearted leadership, and to our Board of Directors for their vision. Jake, it has been my greatest privilege to serve with you all these years. Thank you.” — Nadia Kist
To help provide a seamless transition, Jake and Nadia will serve as Co-Executive Directors before Jake steps down on June 30, 2025. They will work closely with the board and staff to optimize structure, enhance positioning within the sector, and deepen our commitment to locally-led leadership — a natural progression that builds on our strengths while embracing the extraordinary opportunities ahead.
Our Board Chair Chris Hobday offered his gratitude and reflections:
“We are grateful to the Lord for these past 20 years of Blood:Water’s history and the collective effort and impact of our many programmatic and funding partners, our staff, and the many other people who have shared this journey with us. We are struck by the blessing of working alongside these two incredibly capable and dedicated leaders as we transition organizationally into a new season. We share our deepest gratitude with Jake as he prepares for his next chapter, and we affirm our deepest confidence in Nadia as she leads this organization forward.”
We’ve been celebrating our 20th anniversary in recent months, and we’re excited about this next chapter in our story. Our work has positioned more than $32 million to frontline organizations across 12 countries, serving more than 11.5 million individuals. It wouldn’t be possible without our global community of partners, donors, and collaborators, and we want to express our deep gratitude for their contributions.
Founder Dan Haseltine shared,
“As Blood:Water steps into our twentieth year, it is truly an immense gift having Nadia take this leadership role and continue to bring to it her vast experience, deep knowledge, and incomparable wisdom. There is no person better suited for this than Nadia!”
Please join us in thanking Jake and Nadia for their unending commitment to our mission to strengthen and resource local, community-led organizations, and in praying for their and Blood:Water’s transitions into this next phase.
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