LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Nicole Jackson was nominated by someone who wishes to stay anonymous.

"Energetic, empathetic, and compassionate is how I can describe Nicole or Ms. Jackson as her students call her," said the nominator. "She has been in the education field for over ten years. I have watched her journey from volunteering at a daycare center at 16 to being a school aide, mother, paraprofessional, teacher, and now a Special Education liaison in the last 20 years. Although she may constantly say she is tired, she never quits. There has been much sleeplessness for her as she ensures students with disabilities are transitioning smoothly throughout the day. She has allowed the students to engage in experiences they would not have encountered by planning trips, from living in the 1800s and cooking by log fire and churning butter to being physically fit at Launch Bounce House."

"Nicole has shown me that being an educator goes beyond teaching," said the nominator. "It is an act of love, of being authentically present and holding a level of determination that will disrupt generational curses and educational stigmas. Nicole is unique because the school she works at is the one she once attended for grades 6-8. She has even had the pleasure of working with her 7th-grade teacher, who spoke highly of her from her interview day."

"Nicole is also the founder and CEO of Empathetic Educators LLC, where the goal is to limit and subsequently close the learning gap within the elementary school population, especially in the underserved population of Brownsville, Brooklyn," said the nominator. "While people may say her students are at-risk, she prefers to say her scholars are at-promise; at-promise for making positive choices, for being successful, for being lifelong learners, and for being deserving of all the opportunities that come their way."