Nicole is an award-winning social entrepreneur and workplace equity advocate. As a 2018 People’s Liberty Haile Fellow, she founded Ellequate, formerly Queen City Certified, the nation’s first data-informed employer certification and cohort-based leadership program for intersectional workplace equity. In 2019, the company received a CLIMB Award for Advancing Gender Equity from the Cincinnati Business Courier and the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber.

Nicole holds a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Arts from Suffolk University. For over a decade she developed and implemented design and brand strategy for mission-driven organizations around the globe. Prior to founding Ellequate, she served as a Social Innovation Specialist, applying the principles of design thinking and human-centered design to complex social challenges alongside marginalized communities in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Nicole is a member of the Cincinnati Business Courier's Forty Under 40 Class of 2020. Her work has been featured in WCPO, The Cincinnati Experience, Cincinnati Business Courier, WVXU, Northern Kentucky Tribune, The River City News, and Cincy Chic. She is regularly invited to share her expertise with audiences around the country, presenting at conferences hosted by SHRM and the Human Capital Institute.