N
Nicole Leopardo
About
Detail
Writer and Systems Thinker
San Francisco, California, United States
Contact Nicole regarding:
work
Full-time jobs
Flexible work
Résumé
Jobs
verified_user
0% verified
Board Member, Governance Committeerd Street Youth Center ClinicMar 2025 - Current (1 year 8 months)3rd Street Youth Center & Clinic was founded as a community effort to ensure that the 6,000 young residents of Bayview Hunters Point (BVHP) had access to the same opportunities for healthcare, employment, and education as other youth in San Francisco. When it first opened in 2005, 3rd Street was run by a dedicated group of volunteers; today, 3rd Street reaches more than 1,500 young people each year through a wide range of holistic services.
Duties and Responsibilities of the Board of Directors:
The Board of Directors (BoD) contributes to the mission, vision, and the work of the 3rd Street Youth Center and Clinic, providing leadership, strategic governance, and fiduciary oversight for the organization. While day-to-day- Director of Equity and InclusionSatellite Affordable Housing Associates SAHAMay 2022 - Sep 2025 (3 years 5 months)
- Director of Organizational Culture and EffectivenessSatellite Affordable Housing Associates SAHAMay 2022 - Sep 2025 (3 years 5 months)
- SAcademic SenatorSan Francisco State Academic SenateAug 2018 - Aug 2020 (2 years 1 month)The San Francisco State Academic Senate develops policies & procedures regarding faculty & administrative appointments, curriculum, business & fiscal matters, campus development, academic standards and University goals
Sat on the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) a Senate Standing Committee that reviews, writes, and advocates for policy specifically related to students. Specialized in writing and editing campus-wide policies with an equity and inclusion lens, and that centered students. - Senior Consultant & Data AnalystThe Justice CollectiveMar 2018 - Jun 2022 (4 years 4 months)- Lead and project manage delivery of high quality Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) services to client-partners across industries including public, private, and non-profit industries.
- Design client research and assessment strategies using equity and inclusion frameworks. Analyze qualitative and quantitative data from client-partners and deliver key insights and recommendations to client teams. Recommendations include DEI approaches to organizational culture, hiring, recruiting, and retention, community engagement, curriculum, and product design.
- Serve as an expert advisor and scholar on Research Justice, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and Critical Mixed Race Studies (CMRS) topics and frameworks. - OEvents and Development ConsultantOakland Food Policy CouncilOct 2016 - Oct 2017 (1 year 1 month)- Lead Event Planning & Implementation
- Foster Mutually Beneficial Partnerships between the Oakland Community and OFPC
- Fundraising and Development - Lecturer, College of Ethnic StudiesSan Francisco State UniversityAug 2016 - Aug 2020 (4 years 1 month)Developed curriculum and taught the following courses:
ETH/RRS 110: Critical Thinking and the Ethnic Studies Experience and RRS 625: Mixed Race Studies: A Comparative Focus
Curriculum focused on:
● Student centered, dialogue driven curriculum
● Media literacy
● Using Racial Formation Theory (RFT), Critical Race Theory (CRT), and intersectional analysis
to critically asses institutions, systems, and policies that have shaped dominant narratives on
race, gender, sexuality, and class
● Analyzing current events through historical and contextual lens
● Highlighting the porosity and mutability of race in relation to the racial hierarchy in the US
Projects: - Founder + PrincipalSome ContextJul 2015 - Current (11 years 4 months)Some Context partners with organizations to turn equity commitments into accountable, everyday practice—through data-informed strategy, leadership development, and culture work grounded in real organizational conditions.
We bring research, facilitation, and applied equity practice together to support sustainable change.
Our partners include:
-Values-aligned private companies
-Mission-driven nonprofits
-Public agencies and public-serving institutions
Our work includes:
-Organizational equity strategy and implementation
-Equity assessment and action planning
-Leadership development and learning design
-Culture, trust, and accountability support
-Equity-centered writing a - Founder & Editor-in-chiefSome ContextJul 2015 - Current (11 years 4 months)SOME CONTEXT is a Black woman-owned consulting firm and independent media source based in San Francisco, California. We are focused on uncovering relevant context to fully understand who we are and how we got here. SOME CONTEXT is driven by history, data and people that are experts in their own experiences. With an eye for racial, social, and economic justice, SOME CONTEXT firmly believes that reliable information, education, dialogue, and thoughtful action are key ingredients to advancing an agenda focused on collective liberation.
Services: EDI Assessment & Strategy, Curriculum Design and Training and Writing & Storytelling - AInstructor AideAlice Fong Yu Alternative SchoolOct 2014 - May 2016 (1 year 8 months)- Assist 4th and 5th grade teachers with 30+ students in the classroom (total 90 students)
- Provide logistical support for teachers, including data entry, filing, copying and grading
- Advise and tutor students on 4th and 5th grade Social Studies and English curriculum
- Facilitate small group work with students including reading and writing interventions and technology based learning with google and Microsoft products
- Help to create a safe, empathetic, and equitable learning environment - Graduate StudentSan Francisco State UniversityAug 2014 - May 2016 (1 year 10 months)Ethnic Studies, with a concentration on the Mixed Race experience and food, cultural transmission, and oral history.
Thesis Abstract: FOOD RITUALS: AN ENTRÉE INTO MULTIRACIAL FAMILY CULTURE
The meanings of food rituals among ethnic groups have become scholarly areas to explore using Sociological and Anthropological approaches. However, still missing in this analysis is what these rituals mean to self-identified multiracial families. Using Ethnic Studies and Mixed Race Studies literature, this research project weaves together cultural understandings of food rituals and theoretical concepts in Mixed Race Studies literature. This research seeks to answer the following questions: What function do food rituals play in mult - Research AssistantEmpirical EducationJan 2014 - Aug 2014 (8 months)- Manage online survey deployment procedures for projects of varying scales; this includes formatting surveys, communication, and technical support for participants
- Communicate information about studies to school personnel, administrators, and teachers using fax, email, phone calls and Microsoft Suite
- Clean, compile and organize data
- Gather appropriate background information for literature reviews
- General office duties, including data entry, filing, copying; maintaining privacy of study participants - Reunion Homecoming Program AssistantStanford Alumni AssociationSep 2013 - Nov 2013 (3 months)- Provide logistical and administrative support for Reunion Homecoming team
- Assist with Class Notes including printing columns, text formatting, document proofing, and
database searches
- Use PostGrads to build ID lists and enter data
- Compile and organize event details in Excel spread sheets to be included in
Reunion Homecoming materials
- Support team through RH weekend with event set-up, registration, crises
management and customer service for over 9,500 alumni and attendees - Senior Sales ProfessionalNordstromApr 2013 - Sep 2013 (6 months)- Top sales associate in department, with a daily average of $2000 in sales
- Compiled customer information and follow-ups in store database for over 100 regular clients; new
product merchandising ; high-end denim brand ambassador
- Trained and oversaw new hires on successful sales, store logistics and customer service skills - Hunger in America Data CollectorFeeding AmericaMar 2013 - Aug 2013 (6 months)- Traveled to two to three program sites monthly to conduct survey
- Recruited dozens of clients for survey and assisting clients with online survey - Bodymetrics Sales/Operational ProfessionalBodymetricsAug 2012 - Mar 2013 (8 months)- Helped to manage schedule and merchandise five styles of Superfine denim
- Operated Bodymetrics Pod; provided sales statistics and customer feedback to executives weekly
- Provided professional and friendly customer service to clients - Marketing/Public Relations InternCalmApr 2012 - Jun 2012 (3 months)- Researched marketing and social media techniques for the non-profit sector
- Wrote and edited the CALM Newsletter and fundraising content
- Wrote marketing copy for online fundraising events - CWriting tutorCampus Learning Assistance Services CLASSep 2011 - Jun 2012 (10 months)- Provided friendly and professional tutoring services for students
- Representative at the annual Student Affairs Divisional Meeting, 2012
- Helped students with a variety of writing projects, with special attention to
grammar, sentence structure, clarity and thesis development - RSan Rafael Hall Resident Assistant, Transfer FloorResidential Life at UC Santa BarbaraAug 2010 - Jun 2011 (11 months)- Planned educational, social and community service programs for residents in San Rafael Hall
- Served as a peer leader to incoming transfer students
- Trained on health, psychology, time management, diversity issues and safety - SSanta Barbara County Democratic Central Committee Member, Supervisorial District 3Santa Barbara County Democratic PartyJun 2010 - Jun 2012 (2 years 1 month)- Liaison between the Santa Barbara County Democratic committee board and students living in the third district
- Voting member on the Democratic governing body of Santa Barbara County - RSan Rafael Residence Hall Desk AttendantResidential Life at UC Santa BarbaraOct 2009 - Jun 2010 (9 months)
Education
verified_user
0% verified
- Master’s Degree, Ethnic StudiesSan Francisco State UniversityJan 2014 - Dec 2016 (3 years)MA thesis titled "Food Rituals: An Entree into Multiracial Family Culture Abstract: The meanings of food rituals among ethnic groups have become scholarly areas to explore using Sociological and Anthropological approaches. However, still missing in this analysis is what these rituals mean to self-identified multiracial families. Using Ethnic Studies and Mixed Race Studies literature, this research project weaves together cultural understandings of food rituals and theoretical concepts in Mixed Race Studies literature. This research seeks to answer the following questions: What function do food rituals play in multiracial families? How do these rituals help to create a sense of common culture in a multiracial family? Using focus groups of th
- UCLAUCLAJan 2011 - Dec 2011 (1 year)
- Bachelor’s Degree, Political Science and GovernmentUC Santa BarbaraJan 2008 - Dec 2012 (5 years)
- San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco State University
Projects (professional or personal)
verified_user
0% verified
- FFree Minds, Free People Conference 2015. Oakland, CA. "Moving Beyond the Black/White Binary: A Critical Look at MultiracJul 2015
- FFree Minds, Free People Conference 2015. Oakland, CA. "Moving Beyond the Black/White Binary: A Critical Look at MultiracJul 2015
Awards
verified_user
0% verified
- SSan Francisco State University Graduate Student Award for Distinguished AchievementMay 2016
- AAnnetta & Gertie Jolivette Empowerment Scholarship AwardNov 2015
- UUniversity Scholarship AwardSep 2015
- SSan Francisco State Associated Students, College of Ethnic Studies Scholarship AwardApr 2015
Publications
verified_user
0% verified
- Some Context NewsletterSubstackApr 2026
- SCritical Mixed Race Studies: Rooted in Love and Fire (in Multiracial Experiences in Higher Education: Contesting KnowleStylus PublishingFeb 2021Recipient of the 2021 Innovation Award of The Multiracial Network (MRN) In the last Census, over 9 million people – nearly 3% of the population – identified themselves as of two or more races. The proportion of college students who identify as Multiracial is somewhat higher, and growing. Although increasing at a slightly slower rate, Multiracial faculty and staff are also teaching and working on campuses in greater numbers. Together, Multiracial people from diverse backgrounds and in various roles are influencing college and university culture, practices, and climate. This book centers the experiences of Multiracial people, those individuals claiming heritage and membership in two or more (mono)racial groups and/or identifies with a Multira
- FOOD RITUALS: AN ENTRÉE INTO MULTIRACIAL FAMILY CULTURESan Francisco State UniversityMay 2016The meanings of food rituals among ethnic groups have become scholarly areas to explore using Sociological and Anthropological approaches. However, still missing in this analysis is what these rituals mean to self-identified multiracial families. Using Ethnic Studies and Mixed Race Studies literature, this research project weaves together cultural understandings of food rituals and theoretical concepts in Mixed Race Studies literature. This research seeks to answer the following questions: What function do food rituals play in multiracial families? How do these rituals help to create a sense of common culture in a multiracial family? Using focus groups of three multiracial families in the San Francisco Bay Area, the researcher found that fo