Nadia Kist is a global health and equitable philanthropy practitioner with over 20-years’ experience leading organizations and initiatives centered around the HIV-response in Africa. A daughter of the continent, Nadia firmly believes that communities are the rightful custodians of sustainable development. She is committed to advancing this into action by championing equitable community-centered models of philanthropy that effectively interrupt the intersectional drivers of health disparities and power differentials.

Nadia is the Director of Africa Partnerships with Blood:Water, a philanthropic organization that partners in grant-making exclusively with African-led organizations. Since its founding in 2004, Blood:Water has deployed $30 Million to 33 partners in 12 countries on the continent. Nadia stewards Blood:Water’s partnership strategy that pairs flexible mulit-year funding with organizational strengthening investments to partners. This includes the Leader Collective, a community of practice that convenes, amplifies and invests in African leader driving social impact.

She serves on the board of the East Africa Philanthropy Network (EAPN), is an active member with the International AIDS Society (IAS), Catalyst 2030 as well as the African Philanthropy Forum (APF). Nadia is also the co-founder and Chairman of Seeds for Hope (SFH), a youth-focused trust in Kenya that exists to expanding access to formal education through academic scholarships.

Nadia has a Masters of Public Administration in International Non-profit Management and a Bachelors of Arts in African Studies, both from New York University. She also holds a post-graduate certificate in Clinical Research Methods from University of Illinois at Chicago. Throughout her career she published contributions to numerous conferences, peer-review journals, and the World Bank. Nadia brings a deep understanding of the ecosystem having worked in a diverse range of contexts including academia, faith, government and civil society institutions.