Nicole is the founder of The Townsend Collaborative, a philanthropy network and advising practice empowering African American philanthropists to effect systemic change. Nicole has more than two decades of leadership experience in nonprofits and philanthropy, having raised more than $60 million for nonprofits, designed philanthropic strategy for $110 million in grants, and managed an additional $900 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. Nicole served as the Chief Impact Officer at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, where she was a member of the C-suite and co-managed the $2.3B family foundation. Prior to that role, Nicole was the founder and president of The Expectations Project, the nation’s largest network of 50,000 faith-motivated public education equity advocates who brought education policy change at the local, state, and national level. She was an executive coach for national nonprofit CEOs with The Management Center and a member of Teach For America’s C-suite, where she led several teams to help eliminate education inequality nationwide. She began her career as a public school teacher in Compton, California.
Nicole received her B.A. from The University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in Education Policy from the University of California, Los Angeles. Nicole has authored two books and several articles about the intersection of education, racial equity, advocacy, and justice. She has served on several nonprofit and corporate boards and is committed to empowering communities of color to bring racial and economic justice, liberation, and systemic change.