Today we’d like to introduce you to Nilza Oyola.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I like to say my journey has had a lot of twists—some hard, some beautiful, all of them shaping who I am today. I was born in Puerto Rico, lived most of my life in New York City, and only five years ago Miami became home. NYC is where I grew up, raised my children, built my career, and learned what resilience really looks like. Miami is where I stepped into a new season—one where my voice, leadership, and purpose began to take on a different kind of depth.
My professional path has always been centered around people. For more than two decades I’ve worked in nonprofit leadership and community development, helping organizations grow, mentoring emerging leaders, and creating programs that strengthen families and communities. I didn’t take the traditional route into leadership; life required me to grow up fast, work hard, and keep pushing forward even when the odds weren’t in my favor. Those early years taught me how to lead with empathy, think creatively, and never underestimate the power of showing up for others.
When I moved to Miami, I became the Executive Director of City to City Miami, an organization focused on developing leaders and supporting community work throughout South Florida. That role placed me at the intersection of innovation, faith, culture, and social impact—spaces where Miami is incredibly rich and full of possibility. I’ve had the privilege of walking alongside pastors, entrepreneurs, and community builders who genuinely care about the future of this city.
One of the areas closest to my heart is women’s leadership. I’ve created spaces where women can learn, heal, grow, and step into their calling with confidence. Whether through coaching, workshops, or storytelling, I love helping women discover the strength they’ve carried all along. There’s something powerful about watching a woman realize she’s not defined by what happened to her, but by what she’s becoming.
I’m also writing my first book, Mangorindo – From Bitter Fruit to Sweet Shade. It’s part memoir, part reflection—an honest look at my journey and the lessons I’ve gathered along the way. It’s not just about overcoming challenges; it’s about how identity, culture, and unexpected grace shape who we become. The process has been healing and humbling, and it’s one of the ways I hope to give back to others who may find pieces of their own story in mine.
Miami has given me a fresh sense of purpose. This city is full of dreamers, builders, creatives, and quiet heroes doing incredible work behind the scenes. I’m grateful to call it home and to be part of the unseen, everyday work that helps people rise and communities flourish. If my story serves as anything, I hope it reminds others that you don’t have to start in perfect places to make meaningful impact. You just have to keep going, stay grounded in who you are, and use what you’ve lived through to strengthen someone else’s journey.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Smooth road? Not at all. My story has been full of detours, hard climbs, and moments where I had to gather myself and keep going even when I was tired. I didn’t come into leadership through the “easy” or traditional path. Life demanded that I figure things out early—juggling motherhood, work, school, and my own healing all at the same time. There were seasons when it felt like I was building the plane while flying it.
Being a Latina woman stepping into leadership brought its own set of challenges. In most rooms, I was either the only woman, the only Latina—or both. I’ve faced moments where my ideas were dismissed until someone else repeated them, where my experience was questioned, or where people didn’t quite know what to do with a woman who leads with strength and empathy. There were times I had to earn credibility twice as fast and with half the margin for error.
And in the faith arena, navigating leadership as a woman added another layer. There were environments where women were welcome to serve but not necessarily to lead. Where your voice was appreciated… as long as it wasn’t too loud. I had to learn how to show up fully without shrinking, how to honor my convictions while still creating room for healthy conversation, and how to stay grounded even when the space didn’t quite make space for me.
None of those moments were easy. There were seasons when I questioned whether I belonged, or whether it was worth the emotional weight that leadership can bring. But each challenge stretched something in me—my resilience, my confidence, my ability to see people beyond titles and positions. It taught me how to advocate for myself and, more importantly, how to advocate for the women coming behind me.
Looking back, the hard parts shaped me just as much as the victories. They gave me a voice with depth, leadership with compassion, and the kind of perspective you can only gain by living through it. Today, I carry those lessons into every room I walk into and pour them into the women I mentor, so their journey feels a little less lonely and a lot more possible.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work has always centered around people—helping them grow, lead, and step into who they were meant to be. For over two decades, I’ve worked in nonprofit leadership, organizational development, and community-building. I’ve led teams, built programs from the ground up, and supported leaders across different cities, cultures, and backgrounds. I love the kind of work that strengthens communities from the inside out.
Most recently, I’ve served as the Executive Director of City to City Miami, where I work with emerging leaders, pastors, and innovators who are committed to making Miami stronger, more compassionate, and more connected. What I do goes beyond strategy or training—it’s about walking alongside people as they navigate real challenges, helping them gain clarity, and creating spaces where growth actually feels possible.
I’m also especially passionate about women’s leadership. I’ve created leadership cohorts, coaching circles, and workshops where women can grow in confidence, discover their voice, and build community with other women who are also rising. I’ve always believed that when women rise, families and entire communities rise with them. Seeing women step into their purpose with courage and clarity has become one of the greatest joys of my career.
On the writing side, I’ve contributed to other publishing projects before, but I’m currently working on my first full book, Mangorindo – From Bitter Fruit to Sweet Shade. It’s been a deeply personal journey—part memoir, part reflection, and part invitation for others to embrace their own story with honesty and hope. I’m proud of this work because it represents a lifetime of lessons, resilience, and transformation.
What sets me apart isn’t just the roles I’ve held—it’s the path I’ve walked. My leadership is shaped by real life, real struggle, and real transformation. I understand what it feels like to start from scratch, to rebuild, to overcome, and to lead without losing your humanity. I bring my whole story into the work—not as something to hide, but as something that gives depth, empathy, and authenticity to how I lead and how I serve.
I think that’s why people trust me. I don’t show up with a mask. I show up with real experience, a listening ear, and a commitment to help others rise. And in a city like Miami, where so many people are fighting for their dreams, I’m proud to be part of the quiet work that helps those dreams become reality.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I love most about Miami is its spirit. There’s an energy here that’s hard to describe unless you’ve lived it—the mix of cultures, languages, food, music, and stories all woven together. People come to Miami to build, to start over, to dream big, and to make things happen. You feel that when you walk through different neighborhoods or sit down with someone who arrived here with nothing but hope in their hands. It’s a city full of resilience, creativity, and quiet heroes doing work that rarely makes the headlines. That’s what I love—the people.
Miami has also given me community in a way I didn’t expect. In just five years, it became a place where I found collaborators, mentors, women who lift each other up, and leaders who genuinely care about the future of this city. There’s something beautiful about how people here embrace you, even when you’re not “from here.”
What I like least—and I say this with love—is the growing gap between the Miami we celebrate and the Miami that’s struggling to survive. Behind the skyline and the beautiful beaches are families living in very vulnerable conditions, people working two or three jobs just to stay afloat, youth who feel unseen, and communities that get overlooked until there’s a crisis. Through my work, I’ve seen the realities that don’t show up on postcards: housing insecurity, under-resourced neighborhoods, overwhelmed caregivers, immigrants waiting years for paperwork, and people who feel forgotten.
Miami is a city of opportunity, but not everyone has equal access to that opportunity.
I also wish we talked more openly about mental health, trauma, and the emotional weight many people carry. So many individuals—women especially—are holding entire families together while quietly breaking on the inside. I’ve met mothers who skip meals so their kids can eat, teenagers who take on adult responsibilities, and leaders who pour out everything they have without receiving much support in return.
So, what I love most is Miami’s heart—and what challenges me most is how much that heart is tested every single day.
Still, I believe in this city. I believe in its people. And I believe that when we come together with honesty, compassion, and a desire to build something better, Miami has the potential to not only shine—but to heal, to rise, and to set an example of what true community can look like.
Pricing:
- Speaking engagements – pricing depends on the event size, location, and preparation required.
- Workshops / Leadership Trainings – customized rates based on format, length, and group size.
- Upcoming Book – pricing for my memoir, Mangorindo – From Bitter Fruit to Sweet Shade, will be shared closer to the release date.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.citytocitymiami.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/citytocitymiami
Image Credits
Brother Soul Films; Michelle Choe
