This story is a part of our Shaping the City series, celebrating Black Business Month in Nashville
Kimberly James has spent the entirety of her career learning to navigate any room she walks into. Now, she is responsible for helping one of Nashville’s oldest civic organizations make room for more people at the table.
Kim makes history, serving as the first Black woman to be the Executive Director of the Rotary Club of Nashville.
How she got to this position was anything but linear. What she describes as a “long and windy road,” Kim’s career path, though nontraditional, always had one throughline: service. “My combined roles previously held make me uniquely qualified – the majority of my career has been surrounded by community outreach, fundraising, and development.”
Her unconventional path is what precisely makes her uniquely suited for the job. Kim’s philosophy in leading this organization is simple: “How can I best support our members?”
The rooms Kim steps into are dynamic. Rotary members find themselves shoulder-to-shoulder with Nashville’s most powerful players – CEOs, nonprofit executives, and business owners – people who run the show in their own sectors. Kim’s mission is to enhance their experience and, most importantly, make their ability to serve stronger.
“I always think of it as an honor and a pleasure to be able to elevate the work of the Nashville Rotary Club and to help support these really awesome, service-minded members.”
As a part of Rotary International, a global service organization, local Rotary branches bring professional, business, and community leaders in the same room, united by the shared goal of fostering peace, performing humanitarian efforts, and building goodwill. These members, known as Rotarians, come together regularly to network, listen to powerful guest speakers, and organize charitable efforts. With nearly 50,000 member clubs worldwide, the organization’s impact is tangible. And under Kim’s leadership, the Rotary Club of Nashville continues to set the pace.
We all know Nashville is booming. With healthcare, music, tech, and the highly underrated nonprofit sector among the industries driving the city forward, there is no shortage of innovative leaders with the power to turn ideas into actionable change.
“As we see growth in each of those sectors, the Rotary Club thrives because the leaders in those sectors understand the value of being a part of the world of Rotary.”
With outreach spanning a number of countries around the globe, members of the Rotary Club of Nashville do not just have the opportunity to impact their local community. For Kim, this is one of the club’s greatest benefits. “Even though our work here is largely based in the Nashville community, that international aspect and our ability to make an impact on a global scale are what make Rotary stand out. Nashville allows us to do that because we have such innovative and creative leaders who are our members.”
For Kim, growth goes beyond attracting more members. Her personal mission is to make sure the Nashville community see themselves reflected in her club.
“One of the areas for opportunity is that there are certain subsets of people that are thriving more than others,” she says. “From an equity standpoint, there is still opportunity for us to provide exposure and engagement for communities that are often overlooked.”
As Nashville continues to boom and diversify, Kim knows Rotary can grow alongside it by creating an environment where people from all different types of communities see themselves as part of the conversation.
For those who are unfamiliar with Rotary, this is not your standard professional networking organization. Every Monday, an eclectic group of Nashville’s leaders spanning every industry, gather, sharing perspectives and new ways to push the Rotary’s mission forward. And sometimes, simply being in the room is the greatest benefit.
“Come in there for the opportunity to serve,” she says. “It can be difficult to navigate this environment if you’re not service-minded. The Rotary first and foremost is a service organization, and networking is an added benefit.”
Kim’s leadership marks a milestone for the Rotary Club of Nashville, but she doesn’t approach the role as simply a historic achievement.
Her focus remains on service: creating more spaces where members can see themselves, supporting the people she has been entrusted to lead, and making sure there is room for more Nashville voices at the table.
Interview by: Ashley Currie
Photography: Trinity Kendrick (Urbaanite Summer Intern)
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