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Nicole is the founder of The Townsend Collaborative, a philanthropy network empowering Black philanthropists to effect collective systemic change. She also heads a philanthropy advising firm, Littlefield Advisors, specializing in supporting Black individuals, families, and foundations to align their giving with their values, legacy, and vision for equity. Nicole has more than two decades of leadership experience in nonprofits and philanthropy, having raised more than $70 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. 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 non-profit and corporate boards and is committed to empowering communities of color to bring racial and economic justice, liberation, and systemic change.
She is a Fellow of the 7th class of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
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