Biography nicole lynn lewis

Biography nicole lynn lewis husband Generation Hope Washington DC Nicole Lynn Lewis is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Generation Hope, a nonprofit organization that surrounds motivated teen parents and their children with the mentors, emotional support, and financial resources that they need to thrive in college and kindergarten, thereby driving a two-generation solution to poverty. Almost half of all Black women in college have dependent children, but many barriers, including structural racism and classism, stand in their way. What are a few of the things institutions can do to better support student parents? My dad did a wonderful job of making sure we knew our history and education was huge in our home.

Nicole Lynn-Lewis
Founder/CEO, Generation Hope​, Washington, D.C. ​

Overview

Over the past ten years, Generation Hope has built a nationally-recognized model for helping teen parents earn college degrees and ensuring that their children are prepared for kindergarten.

We have a strong track record of improving educational and employment outcomes for student parents through direct-services. Now, we are harnessing our on-the-ground experience to launch programming that will address systemic barriers to educational opportunity and economic mobility for the nearly 4 million student parents nationwide.​

Bio

Nicole Lynn Lewis serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Generation Hope, an organization which she founded in March As CEO, Nicole oversees all aspects of Generation Hope’s operations.

Generation Hope’s mission is to surround motivated teen parents and their children with the mentors, emotional support, and financial resources that they need to thrive in college and kindergarten, thereby driving a two-generation solution to poverty.

Nicole became pregnant during her senior year in high school.

Biography nicole lynn lewis I sometimes look back and wonder how I even did it. In spite of these obstacles, she graduated high school and pursued her goal of going to college. Our theory of change is that if student parents receive customized academic, career, financial, and personal development supports, they will thrive academically, graduate from college, and secure family-sustaining wages. I was an honor roll student and was involved in a lot of extracurricular activities.

She had just been accepted into numerous colleges, yet her friends and family told her that college was no longer a reality — a negative outlook often unfairly presented to teen mothers. Nicole left home, nearly failed to graduate from high school because of excessive absences, and experienced periods of homelessness, hunger, and poverty.

In spite of these obstacles, she graduated high school and pursued her goal of going to college. She enrolled as a full-time freshman at the College of William & Mary and brought along her three-month old daughter.

Nicole lynn actress Writing was my passion and I wrote for the high school and regional newspapers. It was hard to try to overcome these hurdles and it was a daily, all-consuming exercise, connecting the dots and just surviving the next 24 hours. On top of all that, I had to be a mom and I had to be successful academically at this really rigorous institution. We want to bring more family friendliness to institutional policy and also create some fundamental shifts in campus culture.

Four years later, she graduated with high honors and a Bachelor of Arts degree, and in she earned a Master of Public Policy degree from George Mason University. There was very little support for Nicole when she attended college, and each day, she is working to change that. Generation Hope rallies around teen parents to help them earn college degrees and forge a path to economic opportunity.

Generation Hope is now expanding its work with young parents beyond the D.C. region by sharing its best practices to help colleges and universities across the country better meet the needs of the nearly 4 million parenting students who are working toward their degrees and by formalizing a policy and advocacy agenda driven by student parents to address the systemic barriers to their success. 

In just 10 years, Nicole has created a truly unique and thriving organization that is gaining national attention for its whole-family approach to dismantling poverty.

Most recently, she was honored with the inaugural Black Voices for Black Justice Award, which “recognizes incredible leaders who have been on the frontlines working to dismantle the deep-rooted, racist systems that have plagued our country for centuries.” As a testament to her work, Nicole has been named a CNN Hero, a “Woman who Means Business” by the Washington Business Journal, a “Top 40 Under 40” by Washingtonian Magazine, a PBS “Stories of Champions” honoree, one of the Top 50 “Exemplar” Alumni of George Mason University, a Minority Business Leader by the Washington Business Journal, and has been featured on major news outlets including “Good Morning America,” CNN, “NBC Nightly News,” and ​The Washington Post​.

Biography nicole lynn lewis generation hope This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Nicole Lynn Lewis. I was just constantly busy with school and clubs and I was always somewhere volunteering—that kind of thing. In October , Nicole was also named the national grand prize winner of the Roslyn S.

In October , Nicole was also named the national grand prize winner of the Roslyn S. Jaffe Award among nearly 3, nominees, which recognizes everyday heroes who are making the world a better place for women and/or children, specifically in the areas of health, education, social reform, esteem, and leadership development.

In January , Ms.

Lewis received an honorary doctorate from Trinity Washington University for her impactful and innovative work with young families, and she is now a member of their Board of Trustees. Nicole also serves as an Ascend National Advisor with the Aspen Institute and on the Advisory Board for the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University.

Prior to founding Generation Hope, Nicole worked for five years with other nonprofit organizations dedicated to youth and/or poverty, providing expertise in the areas of strategic planning, fundraising, and marketing/public relations.

Before her nonprofit work, Nicole was a communications and public relations professional for two years with companies in the Washington DC area, such as GEICO. She is also a nationally known author and speaker on topics such as teen pregnancy and parenting, youth development, higher ed, and leadership. Her highly-anticipated book, ​PREGNANT GIRL,​ will be released in the spring of by Beacon Press.

Nicole holds a Master’s degree in Social Policy and Communication from George Mason University and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the College of William & Mary.

Nicole and her husband, Donté Lewis, live in Maryland with their four children.

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