ADVISOR

With more than 20 years of experience across mission-driven non-profits and high-growth SaaS startups, Nicole Mechem brings structure, clarity, and human-centered leadership to executives and teams. Her expertise spans cross-functional leadership, strategic initiatives, and organizational effectiveness—guiding projects that drive growth and impact. Nicole has worked extensively across the social-impact sector, collaborating with non-profits, foundations, government agencies, and global organizations to strengthen strategy, capacity, and community outcomes.

She also has more than fifteen years of international development experience, including leading President Obama’s flagship Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) across sub-Saharan Africa. During her tenure at IREX, Nicole served as Chief of Party for the Mandela Washington Fellowship—the flagship program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative—where she designed and launched a $22M, multi-country leadership initiative from the ground up. She built and managed international teams across four countries, established field offices throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and partnered closely with the White House, USAID, the State Department, and private-sector leaders to expand leadership, entrepreneurship, and civic-engagement opportunities for emerging African changemakers.

Beyond her work on the Fellowship, Nicole spent more than a decade shaping global leadership, governance, and youth-development programs through partnering with fellows and organizations in over 100 countries. As Director of IREX’s Leadership Practice, she secured nearly $100M in U.S. government and foundation funding, led DEI strategy across a 60-person global team, and helped guide organizational management philosophy for a 450-employee international NGO.

Whether helping a company scale or advancing a mission-driven initiative, Nicole bridges corporate and social-sector experience to turn vision into execution, enabling leaders to focus less on the noise and more on what truly moves the needle.

Nicole served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Georgia and has lived and worked in Eastern Europe and Africa. She has partnered with fellows, organizations, and companies across Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. She holds a Master’s degree from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s degree from California State University, Sacramento.