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Rooted in Auburn and Sowing a Life of Passion: A Spotlight on Sidney James-Nakhjavan
After the Treaty of Cusseta was signed in 1832, Sidney James-Nakhjavan’s family started spilling over into East Alabama from Georgia, and many of them have not left since.James-Nakhjavan is a seventh generation resident of the Auburn-Opelika area and is a descendant of five of its founding families.Her heritage in East Alabama started some 170 years ago, in the areas of Oakbowery, Danway, Cusseta and Waverly which were then located in Chambers County. However, her story only starts with her ancestors, and her family's legacy continues on through her many contributions to Auburn University.Branching OutBorn and reared in Opelika, James-Nakhjavan journeyed away from Lee County after graduating from Opelika High School in 1982 to complete a degree in International Studies and achieve minors in history and French at Emory University. She went on to work first as an assistant buyer at Rich’s Department Store and then in real estate in the Atlanta area.With these positions came “a lot of work, a lot of luck, and a lot of good mentoring,” said James-Nakhjavan, but neither of these paths led her to her ultimate career goals.“You know how you feel when you have passion in your belly?” she said. "While my first two jobs were good ones, and I learned a lot, I lacked a certain burning passion." Photo used with permission.)Her desired passion pointed James-Nakhjavan back to Emory University where she became a program director for the Alumni Association. She was later promoted to the Annual Fund. Through these positions, she discovered her love for higher education.“I love working with students, administrators, alumni and stakeholders who share my values. Higher education is just my ecosystem to thrive in,” she said. “In higher education, I have found that I have an unending curiosity and to me, that's passion. If I’m passionate enough about something, I’m going to be curious enough to go and find the right solution to a problem and a more effective way to accomplish goals. I love creating programs and bringing them to fruition so that all parties involved are beneficiaries.”After a few years of working at Emory, James-Nakhjavan channeled her energy into accomplishing a master’s degree in Liberal Arts at Johns Hopkins University. In Baltimore, she followed her interests, completed her first marathon, expanded her world-view and studied under incredible scholars.Upon completing a master's, James-Nakhjavan pursued her zeal for higher education and began work at George Washington University where she developed programs for young alumni and parents.Back to Her RootsDuring this time, her father, the late Cal James Sr., bought a car dealership in Opelika. At the grand opening of the business, James-Nakhjavan met some Auburn University administrators who introduced her to the late Dr. Gordon Bond, Dean Emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts. At the time, Dean Bond was interested in hiring a development officer.“Get in the car and move home if he offers you the job. He’s an incredible man, and you can learn a lot from him. He’ll teach you more in 10 minutes than you could learn in a lifetime,” she remembers thinking to herself.Three months later, she moved back to Lee County to work as the first ever development officer for the Auburn University College of Liberal Arts.Just two and a half years after this series of events, her father was diagnosed with brain cancer that took his life less than six months later, leaving James-Nakhjavan and her mother, Dora, to manage the dealership. For a year, James-Nakhjavan and a team of professionals successfully transitioned the business to a new owner and buffered their employees from any hardship related to her father's illness."It was very important to us that our tragedy not be a hardship for others, especially our employees," she said. "To this day, we are very grateful for the love and support shown to my mom and me during that very difficult time."After grieving the loss of her father and completing her familial duties at the dealership, James-Nakhjavan spent one year in a consulting role under the guidance of Tom Regan, former Dean of Auburn's College of Architecture, Design and Construction and then embarked on a seven-year journey as a pharmaceutical sales representative.Meanwhile, she and her husband, Behzad, married, and in 2002 and welcomed her son, Arian, to the family. (Pictured to the right. Photo used with permission.)Although she resided in the community where she grew up, she was itching to do more for the place she held so dearly, but her career in pharmaceutical sales kept her working a large territory out of town.“I longed to get back into my community. These are my roots. I felt like I was very disenfranchised from my home even though I was living here,” James-Nakhjavan said.Because she knew higher education was the ideal environment for her, she applied for and earned a position as the development coordinator in the College of Human Sciences. This career shift and opportunity allowed her entry back into the university and aligned her with programs that make a positive impact on stakeholders.Part of her assignment as a development coordinator was working with the College of Human Sciences' Women’s Philanthropy Board (WPB). Immediately, James-Nakhjavan knew WPB was unique and that she wanted to be a part of the positive impact the organization was making.WPB's mission is to educate, enable and empower individuals to develop their full leadership potential, achieve independence as financial decision makers and donors, serve as mentors to future generations of philanthropists, and broaden the base of financial support for the College of Human Sciences. “It didn't take me too long to realize that the women in the group 'got it'. They had their acts together and a lot of courageous tendencies about them,” she said. “Many of them have overcome hardships similar to that which my mother and I faced after Dad died. I related to them.” (Photo of James-Nakhjavan and her mother, Dora, at the 2014 WPB Spring Symposium and Luncheon. Used with permission.)After experiencing the pain and stress that came with her father’s illness and leading his business, James-Nakhjavan felt a special connection to the vision and mission of the WPB. Since joining the College of Human Sciences over a decade ago, James-Nakhjavan and many other colleagues and stakeholders have worked together to broaden the scope of the work of the WPB. Programs that have spawned from WPB include Camp iCare, REAL Cents REAL Change, Volunteers in Philanthropy, Art of Philanthropy, Community Knowledge 360, and a minor in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies which is housed in the Department of Consumer and Design Sciences. The minor has now reached hundreds of students, and there is a study tour class as an option as well as a new study abroad program in Peru that James-Nakhjavan will lead this summer.In 2011, during the 9th Annual WPB Spring Symposium, Dean June Henton announced that WPB and all of the programs that grew out of the organization would become part of the Cary Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, a then newly formed academic center. Dean Henton also announced that the new center’s headquarters would be in the Halliday Cary Pick House which was being donated by WPB founding member, Frances Pick Dillard and her family. In July 2011, James-Nakhjavan and her team moved into the house and began their work to institutionalize the property and further expand the programs of the Cary Center. Shortly thereafter, two philanthropists made significant donations to support the Cary Center and its work: Beth Thorne Stukes, who named two of the center’s positions in honor of her family, and Kim and Tim Hudson, who provided an endowment to support Volunteers in Philanthropy.“There are those people who work to live and those who live to work and make a positive impact on others. I am part of the later.” said James-Nakhjavan. “I am especially lucky because I live and work in a place I love and am deeply rooted in.” “I have been so blessed to be a part of the Women’s Philanthropy Board and the Cary Center and to work alongside the incredible women, men, students, faculty and stakeholders who benefit from the work of our programs.” said James-Nakhjavan.Like many Lee County residents, James-Nakhjavan spends her weekends in the country on land that her family settled in the early 1800’s. However, it is her passion for bettering the Auburn community that makes her such a valuable and unique asset of our community.Join the Auburn Family! Enroll at Auburn.Please visit the Future Students page. Also, consider visiting Auburn for a Tour. We want you to join the Auburn Family … so Apply Now. See More