In 20 years of service in education, Nicole Anderson has served as a developer and facilitator of professional learning services as well as an advocate for educational equity work in numerous ways around the nation. She recently held the position as the first Diversity and Equal Access Executive in the history of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) for almost four years. In this role, she led work focused on equity and diversity including the facilitation of statewide professional learning for ACSA leaders and state board, coordination of the California Equity Leadership Alliance, as well as the development of networks for administrators of diverse backgrounds. Her work also includes the development of a research team that provides research based content and conducts case studies of educational leaders around the state on their journey to closing educational equity gaps. As an ACSA member, she served as the Chair of ACSA’s Equity Committee (formerly called the EADS -Equity, Achievement, and Diversity for Success Committee) where she focused on leading the work of implementing a system that will effectively address the beliefs of ACSA around equity for students and leaders in California. Her work has truly carved a path for educational leaders to be empowered and equipped to build capacity to close educational equity gaps around the state, nation, and world.As a practitioner, Nicole served as an Elementary Principal in Vallejo, California where she held numerous positions as a site administrator for 10 years, which included High School Assistant Principal/Dean and Vice Principal in Vallejo City Unified School District. She was also a Leadership Teacher, Spanish Teacher and Activities Director for 6 years at Jesse M. Bethel High School in Vallejo, which is named after her grandfather. She follows in his footsteps as an advocate for equity and civil rights for students of color in the city of Vallejo, the state of California, and around the nation.In her current role as a consultant, she continues to work with school sites, districts, county offices, school boards, search firms, and various associations to support the work in “truly” ensuring that equity is realized so that all students and educators achieve personal and professional success!
