Orange Blossom Award: The Work That Makes the Work Possible

Naomi Ardjomand-Kermani, director of programmatic operations at the Hypatia Collaborative, supports dozens of St. Petersburg nonprofits by coordinating projects, contractors and timelines that help turn strategic plans into action. (Photo provided)

by Avery Anderson

This December, Orange Blossoms are our way of slowing down in a fast news cycle — a daily pause to recognize the people whose work doesn’t always come with a spotlight, but without whom Tampa Bay’s cultural life would look very different.

Today's is for someone who goes above and beyond all the time.

Nonprofits don’t fail because they lack ideas.
They falter when vision meets calendars, contracts, and capacity.

In St. Petersburg, dozens of small organizations move from planning to impact because someone is doing the unglamorous work of coordination—aligning people, timelines, and resources so good intentions actually land. That work rarely gets headlines. It should.

At the center of that engine is Naomi Ardjomand-Kermani, Director of Programmatic Operations at Hypatia Collaborative. If Hypatia is known for meeting nonprofits where they are—and helping them get where they’re going—Naomi is the reason the roadmap doesn’t fall apart.

Hypatia’s model is deceptively complex: support dozens of nonprofits and small businesses at once, coordinate contractors, track progress across multiple projects, and do it all with a care-first approach that respects the realities of limited staff and stretched budgets. That’s not just logistics. It’s stewardship.

Naomi’s role lives at the intersection of strategy and reality. They translate big plans into executable steps, keep projects moving when momentum wobbles, and ensure that community partners feel supported rather than managed. The work demands precision, judgment, and trust—often simultaneously.

That trust shows up most clearly in how Hypatia’s leadership talks about Naomi’s impact.

“Naomi deserves this recognition because they work incredibly hard to serve our community of nonprofits and small businesses. The Hypatia Collaborative would not be able to provide the level of support and care it does without Naomi's detailed oriented, community-driven skills and work ethic. They are also creative, compassionate, and have so much lived experience and expertise to give to our organization and community. Naomi is a joy to work with and we are honored and privileged to have them as an integral part of our organization. They are an exemplary employee and community asset. I appreciate their honesty, sense of humor, and drive for justice -- it makes our organization better.”
— Linsey Grove, DrPH, MPH, CPH

It’s worth pausing on that phrase: community asset. That’s not corporate praise. That’s ecosystem language.

In a moment when nonprofits are being asked to do more with less—more responsiveness, more accountability, more care—the people who build and maintain the systems matter as much as the programs themselves. Naomi’s work doesn’t just support Hypatia; it strengthens the connective tissue of St. Pete’s nonprofit landscape.

This recognition is for the planners who stay late, the coordinators who catch the dropped balls, the justice-minded operators who understand that how work gets done is part of the work. It’s for the people who make impact sustainable.

And today, it’s for Naomi.

What Are the Orange Blossom Awards?

A month-long series from The Arts Passport celebrating the people and organizations whose quiet, steady work strengthens Tampa Bay’s arts ecosystem. No applications. No campaigning. Just community-driven recognition, released daily in December.