Nicole Gallant is the Founder & Principal of the Downie Street Collective, a consulting firm devoted to enabling leaders and their teams to drive and sustain social change. For nearly 25 years, her work has centered around race, gender, and economic justice through philanthropy, government, nonprofits, and corporations.

At United Way of New York City, Nicole led the program and policy initiatives supporting hundreds of community-based organizations in New York City to increase the self-sufficiency of low-income New Yorkers. Nicole served as an appointee in President Obama’s Administration where she created the education strategy for the Serve America Act. Under her leadership, AmeriCorps shifted its $350 million education budget toward proven and promising practices. Nicole was a Program Executive at the Atlantic Philanthropies, overseeing a nationwide Learning Portfolio committed to improving education outcomes for children and youth in the United States. During her tenure, she created a portfolio of grants to diversify the leadership of the youth development sector.