Woman on a Mission
Nichelle Nichols is no stranger to Madison. She grew up in the South Madison community which she described as a close-knit neighborhood where families and kids knew each other well. This was a neighborhood where there was a sense of belonging and she felt there was always someone looking out for her. As she grew older, she described some of the benefits of growing up in Madison as its lovely parks, a free zoo, and many family-friendly activities for her own children who she raised after having gone off to college in Baltimore to an HBCU, Morgan State University and living for a while in California. Nichols also later acknowledged the benefit of the education she received in Madison when she first went to college. “We were reading things like, The Great Gatsby” in college but I had already read that at Madison West High School.
However, growing up and living in Madison has not been without its challenges. She points to the “lack of Black affirming spaces” and the “difficulty of raising children here even with the increase of Black leadership!” Despite these challenges, Nichols has carved a significant career path in the world of non-profits and public service. Although she initially thought her career path would be in journalism, marketing, or business, it was as a young mother that she began seeing a need to contribute in the non-profit/public service arena. “I started attending drop-in parent spaces like the early childhood center at Harambee.” While attending these drop-in centers to connect and meet with other young parents, she began talking with Betty Banks, Director of the Early Childhood Center and an organization known as Family Enhancement.
“You should join the board,” Banks urged. Nichols initially thought she was unqualified for such a position because of her youth and not having yet completed her degree. Banks encouraged her and let her know that neither age nor a college degree were criteria for being a board member. From her position as a board member, Nichols saw there was a staff opening for someone to facilitate the parent support group. In that role, she says she “loved feeling connected to a mission of an organization,” more so than chasing financial compensation. Her work at Family Enhancement helped her shape an identity around making the lives of children and families better. She facilitated the drop-in parent groups, worked with parents, some of whom were court-ordered to participate in parenting classes, and she facilitated a group with teen parents who, although younger than Nichols, she could relate to as a 20-something mom. She described her joy in that role as loving “holding space for children.”
Although Nichols thought her career would be in marketing, she moved on to Big Brothers/Big Sisters where she used those marketing skills to recruit and support volunteers, organize activities for the volunteers and participants, and resource development. Her next role was with the Community Action Coalition, and she found herself in a more administrative position. Here she did grant writing, development, budgeting, and resource development. This required her to work closely with donors. Next on Nichols’ career path was her role at the Urban League of Greater Madison. She was at the Urban League to head up its education programs and although she did not have a degree in education, she could see herself moving closer to that area. She led the Schools of Hope program that served students in Madison, Sun Prairie, and Verona School Districts. She also led the League’s 21st Century Careers program and piloted the ACT Prep program. She felt herself “becoming passionate about education!”
Nichols next stop was the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County where she served as the Chief Educational Officer. At the Club she became more involved with MMSD as they launched the AVID-TOPS Program. She worked with funders to help support MMSD grads realizing that young people often need help negotiating the post-secondary environment. This work involved partnerships with Madison College, Edgewood College, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Additionally, she helped facilitate summer internships and the Club’s afterschool programs.
Before long Nichols found herself in one of the systems she was working with as the Executive Director of Equity & Engagement for MMSD. Her job there was to develop resources and set the tone for the district’s 50 schools. As she did this work, she recognized the magnitude of systems work. She felt she thrived in it and worked to be a “warm demander” by holding the line around equity and discouraging inequity. She was able to help families, students and Black led organizations to work through bureaucracy and help Black students.
Since 2021 Nichols has served as a Senior Equity leadership Consultant for the National Equity Project. However, this national role has not taken her away from Madison. She currently serves as the President of the Madison Metropolitan School District Board. Her hope is that the district’s residents will understand that the board’s role is governance, not administration and as such the board should work to “find a balance of how to set the right conditions for superintendent success and how to show up to interrogate and ask the right questions.” As board president she has the additional responsibility of being available to and for the Superintendent, to communicate with the other board members, and responding to media inquiries with a unified voice. She insists board members should “know our lane and be good at it!”
Asked why she agreed to run for another term as a school board member Nichols pointed out her term has been fraught with transition. She came onboard in April 2022 and by 2023 Superintendent Carlton Jenkins retired. This was followed by Interim Superintendent, Lisa Kvistad, and current Superintendent Joe Gothard who had to shepherd a major referendum and is currently dealing with a structural deficit. “There is still work to get to,” says Nichols. “We need to be able to answer the questions of how students are doing and how to address decades of academic inequity.” She’s still on a mission!
