is a critical communication and independent scholar whose research examines Black women’s and femmes’ activism, affective labor, digital culture, sex work, and online social movements. Her work explores how Black women and femme activists use digital practices to sustain movements, produce community care, and create more livable conditions within racial capitalism. She is particularly interested in the relationship among digital labor, affect, discourse, and the everyday practices through which marginalized communities build more caring and liveable lives.

Nicole earned her Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, along with a certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Her doctoral research was completed under the guidance of Sarah Banet-Weiser and Allissa V. Richardson.

Her scholarship has appeared in The Rhetoric of Social Movements: Networks, Power, and New Media and the Journal of Children and Media. She has also presented her research at the International Communicational Association, Association of Internet Researchers, International Association for Media and Communication Research, and the National Communication Association. 

Beyond her scholarly work, Nicole is committed to movement, community care, and collective wellbeing. As a nationally certified Pilates and meditation instructor, she has worked to support the physical and mental wellbeing of Black women and femmes. Across her research and community engagement, she considers how activism, care, digital culture, and embodied practice can help marginalized communities sustain themselves and one another.