
Nicole Jones Program Manager of Career Pathways
Denver International Airport (Center of Equity and Excellence in Aviation)
Nicole.Jones@flydenver.com
720-289-6097
Graduating Class: 2022
Industry: Education & Training, Government & Public Administration, and Transportation, Distribution & Logistics
BIO
Born and raised in the beautiful Mile High City, Nicole Jones is an amazing and ambitious program development specialist for youth workforce empowerment. She relaunched a highly successful multidimensional youth apprenticeship program for the City and County of Denver in partnership with CareerWise Colorado for the past 18 months. She comes from a 9- year span of working with Denver Public Schools as a secondary science educator, a team lead for culture and equity, a multiple sport coach, and her most recent title of a school counselor. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Lane College in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and recently obtained her master’s degree from New York University in Psychology with a focus in counseling and mental health/trauma.
She can visualize success and identify unconventional, yet highly effective strategies for achieving it. She skillfully balances organizational objectives and productive relationships, strategizing and recommending ways in which to achieve and maintain a thriving community for all. Her collaboration skills and innovation talents have supported her professional growth.
Nicole currently serves on the Denver Mayor’s Youth Commission where she is an adult commissioner for youth violence prevention and educational equity. Nicole also serves on the Mile High Youth Corp board as a nominating committee member to help drive board recruitment and diversity. Nicole is also actively serving on the governor appointed Interagency Agency Advisory Committee on state apprenticeship where she is working on developing a program and process to increase apprenticeships in multiple job fields.
EDUCATION
▪ M.S, New York University, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York, NY 2020
Concentration: School Counseling K-12 Focus in Trauma, Mental and Behavioral Health
▪ B.S, Biology, Lane College, Jackson, TN 2011
Chemistry Minor
WORK EXPERIENCE
October 2022-Present, Denver International Airport, Center of Equity and Excellence in Aviation, Program Manager of Career Pathways
- Developing and implementing workforce development projects and programs through coordination with internal and external stakeholders
- On a seasonal basis, this role performs some elements of supervision for high school and college interns, as well as apprenticeship programs
- Develops and prepares an annual budget for program activities, monitors financial activities, develops required budget reports, and ensures invoices are paid
- Assists leadership team in gathering weekly report content for EVP review
- Evaluate and assess results of assigned projects looking for opportunities to continuously improve
- At the direction of the Chief of Staff Division, tracks and trends team project performance and analyzes workflow focusing on the voice of the customer and airport strategic objectives
- Creation of quality curricula utilizing an equity lens for implementation and facilitation to youth populations
- Responsible for managing all student and youth workshops, tours, and programming
- Continuously seeks ways to innovate and connect with local and regional student populations
- Counsels, coaches and mentor’s interns and apprentices on career development, training, and continuing education
February 2021-October 2022, City and County of Denver, Denver Economic Development and Opportunity, Program Administrator for Youth and Family Services
- Recruit, manage, and evaluate youth apprentice employees for the City and County of Denver, working in partnership with community organizations, non-profits, Denver Public Schools, and CareerWise Colorado.
- Identify, support, and develop programs and activities to expand youth employee/apprentice professional development and pursuit of career pathways through on the job training, soft skills training, and mentoring.
- Train and educate city staff in supervision, development, and management of youth apprentice through various trainings, workshops, and meetings.
- Identify and support existing, effective, and culturally responsive programs that bridge academic and economic inequalities for under-resourced youth in the NEST neighborhoods.
- Research and analyze issues, implement best practices, and serve as a technical expert in education, two-generational family engagement, and youth workforce development.
- Craft, implement, and evaluate new, research-based, culturally responsive, and relevant pilot programs that bridge academic and economic inequalities.
- In partnership with NEST, DEDO, the Office of Children’s Affairs help develop and execute goals, objectives, and priorities for all aspects of youth workforce develop and educational supports.
- Bring together internal and external stakeholders (including non-profits, schools, and business) and foster collaboration with community partners to ensure educational and career support for youth from underserved communities.
- Developed, negotiated, and managed partnership contracts and other legal documents for CareerWise Colorado Partnership, Economic Mobility Grant for the National League of Cities, including drafting RFP for professional/services contracts, evaluating proposals, administering the contracts, and monitoring contracts for compliance and expenditures.
- Develop and maintain evaluations and reports as need using Salesforce to track program success to report program process.
June 2019- February 2021, Vista Academy, Denver Public Schools, School Counselor
- ICAP Program Coordinator, Tier II and III conversations to engage and re-engage
- Graduation Requirements Monitor for Class of 2022 and 2024, New Student orientation Coordinator
- Primary contact for students and parents regarding Flyer Connect Application
- Counseling Department Senior Night Coordinator, Provide attendance interventions (home visits, phone calls, setting expectations) with Students and Parents.
- Virtual Career Fair Coordinator, Parent Engagement Liaison, Weekly Friday Student Celebrations Coordinator
- Provide Academic interventions with students and parents when students’ grades are D/F.
- Career Exploration and Development (Internship Liaison, Community Connect, McBride Impact Liaison, DST and AKA Liaison, Career Fair Coordinator)
- Teacher and Staff Professional Development Coordinator (PD): Counseling Department, Counseling Department Weekly Newsletter Contributor
- CHILL Foundation Coordinator for Vista, SOS Foundation Coordinator
- GRID/GRASP Liaison (gang intervention program)
- Vista Academy Social Media Co-Coordinator
- Resume and Cover Letter Writing Workshop (postsecondary readiness, College and Career), Job Search and Interviewing Skills Write Letters of Recommendation
- Small Group Facilitator (student engagement, attendance, post-secondary planning, scholarships, healthy relationships)
- Weekly Department Meeting Co-Organizer
- Dropout Recovery Interventions, Community Liaison
- 504/IEP Liaison/Review
- FNE Concessions Manager , 8th Grade Career Fair Coordinator, Career Connect/Wise Liaison, Edgenuity Facilitator, Student Council Advisor Bi-weekly Town Hall meeting Facilitator
- Back to School Night Coordinator
- Home Visits Certified, Especially Me Girls Liaison,
- Vista Academy Girls Lock-In Founder
- Denver Safe Zones Liaison, Green Valley Ranch Citizens Advisory Board Member
- Mayors City Youth Council Commissioner (until May 2023)
- FNE Summer School Pathways Counselor/Science Teacher, Co-Lead ICAP quarterly lesson planning, delivery and data entry
- Assist with Suicide Risk Review
- College Visits Liaison
October 2015- June 2019 Vista Academy, Denver Public Schools Licensed Secondary Science Educator/Team Lead for Culture and Equity
- Courses Taught: Earth Science 6th-8th, Life Science 6th-12th, Physical Science 6th-8th, A.V.I.D 8th-12th.
- Focused on developing curriculum around project-based learning to adapt the content to various learning styles of the students.
- Used data, research, and assessments to modify instruction and develop concrete learning objectives and plans.
- Developed partnerships/content with the Denver Zoo, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Skate City, Denver Botanical Gardens, and the Cell Anti-Terrorism museum all for 2 or more years for standards-based project-based learning outside of the classroom.
- Planned and coordinated weekly activities for entire school based on school vision and mission, staff and student request/feedback, college and career readiness activities, keynote speakers, cultural experiences, holiday celebrations, and social emotional learning activities.
- Developed classroom management and behavior policies that foster a unique and genuine relationship between educator and teacher for use throughout the entire middle school.
- Implemented daily mindfulness practice in class with students and with staff in various meetings.
- Co-Coordinated professional development for staff based on classroom practices, culture and equity, student conversations, and interactions.
- Implemented the school Girls Empowerment mentorship group that hosted 5 annual lock-in’s (sleepovers) that focused in building unity within the girls at the school, hosted various keynote speakers from the First Lady of Denver to an active US military Female Sargent. Created various session to cover popular topics currently affecting our young ladies. Topics include dignity, self-value, respect, self-love, safe social media, and excellence.
- Coordinated and facilitated 5 annual ski/snowboard trips for our students that allowed them to experience the outdoor spots at Keystone, Vail, and Breckenridge
- Managed the Far Northeast Warriors Football Concession stands. Staffed each game with volunteer students and staff, tracked sales, maintained inventory, prepped/cooked/served food items, and taught student volunteers how to run the operation.
- Serve on Data team collection and analysis for Science Department
- Serve on Internal Leadership Development Team as Team Lead for Culture and Equity