Holding degrees in both interior design and architecture from Texas Tech University, Nicole has leveraged her background in design and systems thinking to launch a career building better, stronger, more prosperous communities. In 2007, she founded Uncommon LLC, a private consulting firm, as a mechanism to advocate for historically underrepresented populations and affect positive change within the urban environment.
In 2013, the City of El Paso became one of the first cities in the world to join the 100 Resilient Cities initiative pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation. In 2014, Nicole became the first Latina in the world to serve as Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) for a municipal government. The CRO is an innovative position in city government that reports directly to the city’s chief executive and acts as the city’s point person for coordinating citywide efforts that address social, environmental and economic challenges. After 3 years of intensive community engagement, research and planning, Nicole led the team that completed the City’s first comprehensive Resilience Strategy; a roadmap of actions aimed at propelling El Paso forward toward realization of our full potential as a prospering binational metroplex.
Most recently Nicole is serving as Director of Community + Human Development for the City of El Paso. In this role she continues to raise the bar for city leadership by provoking innovation among civic leaders, industry professionals and the community at large. Over the course of the COVID-19 crisis she led the Vulnerable Population Support Task Force, overseeing the deployment of over $77 million dollars in aid to thousands of El Paso’s most vulnerable residents. She remains focused on building grass roots resilience across the Paso Del Norte region, emphasizing dynamic solutions to the challenges of climate instability, urban development, housing, homelessness, economic prosperity and social justice.