Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole Nidea. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nicole, appreciate you joining us today. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?

During my first weeks as a first-year student at Washington University in St. Louis, I was eager to find student organizations to join. One opportunity caught my attention: a tour of the local Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) donor care unit hosted by the original SODA: Student Organ Donation Advocates chapter. At the time, I was considering medical school, and the chance to see a surgical suite intrigued me. I didn’t know much about organ, eye, and tissue donation, but I signed up.

That event turned out to be transformative. I met Sara Royf, SODA’s founder, who shared her sister Laura’s story. Laura was an organ donor who saved the life of a woman named Trish. Hearing about the profound impact donation had on Laura’s family and Trish was eye-opening. Sara’s passion for organ, eye, and tissue donation was contagious, and it inspired me to join the SODA chapter. Over time, I took on leadership roles, first as Marketing Chair and later as Chapter President, before graduating.

After graduation, I began working in the nonprofit sector, where my employer supported my professional growth by sending me to a comprehensive five-day fundraising workshop. That experience gave me a solid foundation in fundraising and sparked my desire to put my new skills to work. Around the same time, Sara was expanding SODA from a single chapter into a growing national nonprofit. I reached out to offer my help with fundraising, and together, we developed SODA’s fundraising strategy from the ground up. Our efforts paid off—we raised enough funds to hire SODA’s first full-time employee, which ended up being me. This milestone paved the way for the organization’s continued growth as well as my personal growth.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have served as SODA’s Program Director since becoming the organization’s first full-time employee in 2021. As Program Director, I ensure student advocates have the resources to save and heal lives by leading our organization, fundraising, overseeing the SODA National team, building national partnerships, marketing our programs, managing technology and automations, and more. After leading the original SODA chapter as a college student, it has been meaningful to grow an organization that shaped me and contributed so much to the organ, eye, and tissue donation advocacy.

Before SODA, there wasn’t a clear way for students to seamlessly advocate for donation on their campuses to make a tangible, life-saving impact. Now, through SODA’s chapters and one-off events, thousands of students are stepping up to fill that gap. Our chapters have collectively educated over 200,000 people about donation and registered more than 11,000 donors.

SODA has grown into a movement. When the first chapter was founded in 2014, it was a small, local initiative. Today, we’re a national network of over 100 chapters, and we’re still growing. Each student who joins SODA becomes part of something bigger than themselves, and their efforts have a ripple effect that extends far beyond their campus.

Organ, eye, and tissue donation is one of the most selfless acts of generosity, and students are uniquely positioned to lead this advocacy. With SODA’s resources and support, they can make an extraordinary difference—saving lives while building their leadership skills and creating lasting legacies on their campuses. I’m inspired every day by the students I work with and honored to help them turn their passion into action.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

SODA has built its reputation within the organ, eye, and tissue donation community by fostering strong, collaborative partnerships with OPOs. These partnerships have been key to our success. From the start, we’ve worked to ensure that our efforts align seamlessly with OPO missions and complement their existing programs. By providing a platform for students to advocate for donation, we’ve created a valuable extension of the work that OPOs are already doing in their communities.

We’ve also made a concerted effort to integrate SODA into the broader OPO community. Our team actively participates in committees, shares insights on student engagement, and regularly attends industry conferences. These opportunities have allowed us to build meaningful relationships, exchange ideas, and demonstrate how SODA chapters can amplify the impact of OPOs at a grassroots level.

I believe this combination of collaboration, alignment, and active participation has solidified SODA’s reputation as a trusted partner in the donation space. We’ve shown that when students and OPOs work together, we can inspire more people to consider organ, eye, and tissue donation, ultimately saving more lives.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

OPO partnerships have been a game-changer for our growth as well—over 40% of our new chapter leads in the past year came directly from OPO referrals.

As a remote team of two, SODA’s capacity to travel and recruit new students is naturally limited. However, our OPO partners are already out in the community, visiting schools and attending events to build relationships. Introducing students and educators to SODA during these interactions, OPOs creates a win-win scenario: SODA gains passionate student leaders to grow our network, and OPOs benefit from having a peer-to-peer advocacy presence in their communities.

This collaboration allows us to extend our reach far beyond what would be possible on our own. It’s not just about growing our chapters—it’s about amplifying the life-saving message of organ, eye, and tissue donation through authentic student voices. This partnership-driven approach has been instrumental in turning SODA into a national movement.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sodanational.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sodanational
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sodanational
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolenidea/
• Twitter: https://x.com/sodanational

Image Credits

Erin Didier