Director
Nicole is an attorney and the Executive Director of Just Beginnings Collaborative, a nonprofit funding intermediary working to prevent child sexual abuse through community-rooted, non-carceral strategies. She has spent her career taking on difficult, stigmatized issues and finding creative ways to move funders, policymakers, and communities toward bold solutions — including raising nearly $3 million to support prevention work nationally.
Nicole brings deep nonprofit governance experience to the FOAS board, having served as Board Chair of The Ahimsa Collective, which supports formerly incarcerated people, and as an advisory board member of Ignite Philanthropy, where she helped guide the global organization through a challenging funding period and a thoughtful wind-down.
A lifelong animal lover, Nicole's connection to animal welfare is personal. She discovered her happiest self while volunteering with the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in Philadelphia, PA — and that love has only grown.
Nicole lives in East Oakland with her fiancé, Dominic, and their dog, Bella — close to many of the communities that FOAS serves, and passionate about bringing education, outreach, and resources around animal welfare to her neighbors.
