Julie Nicholson

Julie Nicholson, Ph.D., MBA is an experienced leader cultivated over 20 years of work in direct service, higher education, the non-profit sector and consulting for states and communities across the U.S. and globally. A Professor of Practice in the School of Education at Mills College—now Mills College at Northeastern University—for 17 years, she directed several innovative programs including the Leadership Program in Early Childhood, a Joint MBA/MA Educational Leadership Program and the Center for Play Research. She is currently the Vice President for Implementation and Impact at the Children’s Funding Project, a nonprofit that assists leaders and agency staff from local, state, and Native nations in identifying and aligning funding sources for children's services. The organization coaches policymakers on aligning existing funds with local priorities, equips advocates with the skills to build public and policymaker support, and helps generate new, sustainable funding sources to achieve goals for children and youth.

Dr. Nicholson conducts community-engaged scholarship and her approach to research and evaluation is aligned with a commitment to build insights and learn collaboratively with communities. She is dedicated to shifting the historical power dynamics in research and evaluation and balancing traditional methods with approaches that put power in the hands of community members and allow different strength-based stories about the impact of programs in communities to be told. Her teaching, research and publications emphasize issues of social justice and equity in leadership and education PreK-college. Over her career she has led many diverse teams, secured funding for and directed many complex projects and served in leadership roles for a wide array of community-centered social impact initiatives.

Dr. Nicholson is the lead author of 10 books, co-editor for one and co-author of 3 more. Her most recent books include Reducing Stress in Schools: Restoring Connection and Community (2024, Harvard Education Press), Creating Equitable Early Learning Environments for Young Boys of Color: Disrupting Disproportionate Outcomes (2023; California Department of Education), Supporting Young Children to Cope, Build Resilience and Heal from Trauma through Play: A Practical Guide (2023; Routledge) and Principals as Early Learning Leaders: Effectively Supporting Our Youngest Learners (2022; Teachers College Press). Additionally, she has published many book chapters, book reviews, technical reports, resources for public scholarship and dozens of peer reviewed journal articles.

Dr. Nicholson has served in many leadership roles outside of higher education including Deputy Director for WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies, co-founder and co-director for the Center for Equity in Early Childhood Education— a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting transformative change to improve racial equity and intersectional justice for young children and the early childhood workforce, and Associate Editor for the global journal, Early Child Care and Development among others.

She regularly gives keynotes and provides professional development, coaching and mentoring to individuals, agencies, schools/districts, and state leadership teams across the U.S. and internationally. She has many years of experience participating in policy committees, serving on non-profit Boards, and collaborating with global partners on a wide range of policy, research and practice-focused projects.

Julie received an MBA with concentrations in finance and data analytics from St. Mary’s College of California, an MA and Ph.D. in education from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, an MA in developmental psychology from San Francisco State University and a BA and multiple subjects teaching credential from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She taught children for ten years in preschool and public school classrooms.