SAN ANTONIO – President and CEO of Haven for Hope Kim Jefferies has announced she is leaving San Antonio to lead a new nonprofit.
In an interview with KSAT, Jefferies said she is parting ways from the Alamo City after leading Haven for over three years.
“Working at Haven has been the privilege of my life,” Jefferies said. “Having the opportunity to just sit in this seat and get to see that impact on thousands of individuals a year impacted positively by Haven, but also the impact that it’s had on San Antonio, the city that I love.”
Jefferies has worked in the nonprofit industry since 2000, serving as a community leader for several nonprofits, including The Nonprofit Council, United Way, Head Start and Autism Lifeline Links.
“It’s interesting because I don’t have a linear path,” Jefferies said.
With a family full of educators, Jefferies said she always wanted to find a way to give back.
“I have a servant’s heart, and I want to give back, but I didn’t think teaching necessarily was that,” Jefferies said. “So, I took a break from school and working a couple full time jobs, and then realized I wanted to get back into something more service oriented.”
Jefferies then joined the Brighton Center. She worked there for 21 years and led the nonprofit for 15 years.
She was later offered an opportunity at Haven for Hope.
“When you walk on [Haven for Hope’s] campus, there is a spirit that’s here that it’s not in your face and it’s underlying, but it’s this beautiful spirit of resilience and hope. And you can just feel it when you walk on Haven’s campus,” Jefferies said.
People come to Haven for Hope to recover from trauma and homelessness. Jefferies said she found joy in watching people succeed at the nonprofit.
“I think one of the things that I underestimated was the amount of heartbreak in this work coming in,” Jefferies said. “But there’s also this incredible joy, and there’s people every day who are moving out and who are moving on with their life and overcoming so much trauma that they’ve experience. There’s a beauty in kind of the tragedy here at Haven for Hope, which I love and I adore.”
Jefferies has not publicly announced where she is headed to next, but said the nonprofit is out of state.
The board of Haven for Hope is conducting a national search for its next president and CEO.
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