Linda Nieves: A Legacy of Opportunity and Hope

The Soka University of America community mourns the loss of Linda Nieves, a beloved donor whose faith in young people shaped the lives of hundreds of students and will continue to do so for generations to come.

Linda and her husband Luis established the Luis and Linda Nieves Family Foundation in 2004, choosing SUA as its sole beneficiary. This wasn’t typical philanthropy — it was an act of profound faith in education’s power to create a more peaceful world.

For two decades, that faith has taken tangible form. The foundation has funded more than 100 Learning Clusters, month-long research seminars that send students across the country and around the world. It brings distinguished scholars and humanitarians to campus, sponsors visits by Soka junior high students from Japan and Brazil, and supports summer research grants and biannual United Nations study tours for SUA students. The Luis and Linda Nieves Observatory stands as a testament to their commitment to discovery and learning. This summer, the foundation will help bring 100 young people from around the globe to campus for the Earth Charter Youth Summit.

Each winter, Linda and Luis traveled to SUA for the foundation’s annual meeting. President Edward M. Feasel recalls how Linda would light up hearing about the previous year’s programs.

“Linda’s question was never ‘What can you do for us?’ but ‘What more do you need?’” Feasel said. “That generosity of spirit, her absolute faith in young people, is what we’ll carry forward.”

After the meetings came Linda’s favorite part: the Learning Cluster fair, where students eagerly shared their research with her. The gratitude flowed both ways: students appreciated the opportunities she made possible, and Linda found joy seeing young people engaged with the world’s pressing questions.

At this year’s meeting, held just last week, Luis and their daughter Margaret Olsen toured the fair together. Students showed Margaret their work with the same enthusiasm they’d shown Linda, a continuity that speaks to the warmth this family brings to their giving.

Executive Director of Philanthropy Linda Kennedy remembers Linda as “one of the most loving and supportive women I have ever known.” Family meant everything to Linda, Kennedy said, and the love and encouragement she gave Luis in all he did, especially his deep commitment to supporting the growth and happiness of others, was beautiful to witness. “She also opened her heart to Soka students, taking genuine joy in watching them grow and succeed,” Kennedy said. “Her generosity created opportunities for many young people who might never otherwise have had them, and I will always remember her warmth and the kindness that made everyone around her feel cared for.”

SUA’s founder Daisaku Ikeda wrote, “The value of a life is measured by how much it contributes to others.” By that measure, Linda Nieves lived a life of extraordinary value. Her contributions continue through every student whose worldview expanded because of a Learning Cluster, every researcher whose work she funded, every young person who encountered new ideas because the foundation brought a scholar to campus.

Linda believed in SUA’s mission. More importantly, she believed in its students. The university will honor that belief by carrying her legacy forward, opening doors, broadening horizons, and equipping young people to build the kinder, wiser, more just world she envisioned.