Profile: Dan Nackasha-Keyworth

Dan Nackasha-Keyworth

Dan Nackasha-Keyworth (PPE, 2020) is former Vice President Customer Modernisation; Managing Director, International Markets and Global Foundations at Blackbaud, a leading provider of cloud solutions for nonprofits, schools, foundations and other social impact organisations. In 2025, after around a decade at Blackbaud, Dan undertook a 9-month career break to embark on an exciting global adventure with his wife Mema, circumnavigating the globe without flying.

What brought you to Univ?
I always wanted to study at Oxford, but honestly I didn’t know the colleges apart – so I trusted in the name University College and its status as the oldest. I chose smartly! What actually made it possible though was the support and belief of my parents; the help of my Maths teacher Paul Pearce; and the generosity of two alumni, Tim Tacchi and Mike Fischer, who funded my Old Members’ Bursary for those who come from schools with little to no tradition of sending pupils to Oxford.

What did you like most about the College?
Living and learning in the heart of a several‑hundred‑year‑old college, attending tutorials with the best and brightest academics, is something I’ll never forget. But what stays with me most is the friendships and the times we had together; they remain my closest friends more than 20 years on, including my best man, Nigel. So many people at Univ – students, staff, and academics – had a truly meaningful impact on my life. I feel very lucky indeed.

What were the most memorable moments from your time at Univ?
Aside from all‑nighter essays, Ahmed’s kebab van, and countless Univ 3rd‑team football matches in the rain…? I’ll never forget the Casablanca Ball, where I was part of the organising committee. Somehow, we pulled off one of the best Balls Oxford has seen, with 1,100 guests and more than 100 entertainers, including the dodgems I helped to build and a very special Ronnie Scott’s jazz stage. On that night and so many others, I’ll never forget the kindness of the then Master, Lord Butler, and Lady Butler. The Ball also got me a weekend job at the Cardiff Worldport Festival looking after Sir Bob Geldof!

Did you do any travelling while you were a student?
Yes, and in large part thanks to the College. My first ever trip outside Europe – three weeks in Thailand, traversing the country – was with Univ friends, and this was followed the next year by a Master’s Travelling Scholarship to the US. There, I joined up with more Univ friends and stayed with several alumni as I crossed the country over six weeks using planes, trains, and automobiles – including our 1988 Dodge Grand Caravan until it exploded in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. Those alumni we visited were deeply generous, and it opened my eyes to the power of Univ’s community – and to the vast world around us.

You were part of Univ as both a student and a member of staff. Was there anything that struck you, having seen two sides of College life?
The transformative impact of philanthropy. I benefited directly as a student, in several ways, and then learnt more as a telethon caller and student participant at Univ’s Ditchley Park strategy conference. Myself and half a dozen or so other students attended for a small part of the overall event, including a lunch, and TJ Rawlinson and Lady Butler looked after us.

Later I led those events and others in the Development Office and helped drive the record-breaking Annual Fund and UNIV20/20 Campaign, mentored by TJ Rawlinson and then Judy Longworth as Development Directors. Over almost a decade I saw countless instances of how just 6,500 or so alumni were transforming lives not just in Oxford, but around the globe – through their direct work and their support as donors and volunteers.

How did your time at Univ influence your career and life?
Hugely. My entire career has been spent working in social impact, and that started at Univ, fundraising in the Development Office. Later I joined the central University Development team to develop and lead collegiate‑wide systems and annual programmes, helping to shape and advance the £3bn Oxford Thinking Campaign. That in turn brought a decade working at Blackbaud, a global software company powering social impact, leading its relationships with charities, universities, schools, grant making foundations, and other customers around the world. The College also taught me the enormous power of networks – which eventually led to me becoming a trustee, and then chairing, inHive Global, a charity empowering young people through networks across the Global South.

What inspired you to take on such an epic adventure?
Mema did! My wife Mema and I actually met at Blackbaud, with her leading its JustGiving customers, and we share a passion for diverse cultures and experiences and seeing the world around us. So when we got married in Corfu in July 2025, we decided: if not now, then when? There’s no perfect time, and we knew we’d never regret such an experience. And thus we set off on 1 August 2025 to complete a flightless circumnavigation of the globe – 101,000 km through 55 countries across 5 continents, all without flying. Originally intended to be six months, we decided the globe was worth some extra detours, finally arriving back on an overnight ferry crossing from Le Havre on 18 April 2026.

Which part of your travels was the most challenging?
Visas. Crossing land borders is an amazing experience, but usually far more complex than arriving by airport. For Honduras, we needed about 60 pages of documents including a police certificate; for Malawi, we had to prove all our past vaccinations, including those we’d had decades ago; and in Nepal we got stuck for three weeks awaiting Indian approval – eventually becoming the country’s first‑ever e‑visa land crossings in the dead of night at an army base on New Year’s Eve. There were so many border stories, including the time on the Mexico-US crossing when we bolted out of the security checkpoint and down the highway after seeing our bus and bags drive away without us.

What are some of the highlights from your trip?
There were so many – not least the incredible landscapes, animals, and people we encountered. From visiting the most stunning monasteries while traversing the Tibetan plateau to Everest Base Camp; to walking through raw natural landscapes surrounded by icebergs after reaching Greenland by boat. And from trekking for three days in the Colombian jungle to the Lost City after skirting the Darién Gap by sailing boat; to being tugged on my trousers by a wild gorilla in the Ugandan rainforest. Perhaps most inspiring was the resilience we saw in some of the world’s biggest slums and townships – from Dharavi in Mumbai, India to Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya and Soweto in Johannesburg, South Africa: running tours, building schools, recycling products others take for granted, and helping others, all under the harshest conditions. Travelling at surface-level and entering by road and ports, you see the world as it actually is; what we discovered was a profound sense of connection, openness, and wonder in every community we entered.

What are you doing now?
Since returning in April, I’ve been catching up on all things AI and keeping pace with how technology is evolving, including teaching myself how to build agentic AI models. I’ve also spent time studying online about machine learning and – as one of my greatest passions – sustainable development. Now I’m about to embark on my next big career step, still focused on the intersection of data and software with global impact, building on the past 25 years of experience. I’ll hopefully be able to share more on LinkedIn in a few days’ time!

You’re currently a donor to the College. Why do you give to Univ?
Univ transformed my life; it made so much possible for me, and I’ll be eternally grateful. My student experience and working at Univ and Oxford over the subsequent decade reinforced the extraordinary impact it has on so many people’s lives. It provides remarkable learning opportunities for young people and delivers research that is pivotal to the planet. We saw one example of that with the COVID vaccine, but the reality is Oxford helps so significantly in countless ways across so many disciplines. I think it’s really important to support and amplify that story.

What’s your advice for students at Univ?
Embrace every moment. Stepping outside your comfort zone is where the magic happens. Looking back, I cannot believe how lucky I was to have tutorials with just two other students in front of incredible tutors like Sujoy, Ngaire, Bill, and Tim. And there are so many things to get involved in around the university and the city. Take it all in.

Describe Univ in three words.
Community. Kindness. Brilliance.

Further reading…
We’d love you to watch our brief highlights reel and check out our travel blog “Around the world in 180 days.”