After studying International Development at American University, Nicole founded her own organic farm business, Manic Organic, which she operated successfully for 10 years in her home state of Rhode Island. In 2008, Nicole joined the Equal Exchange Cooperative as a sales rep inspired by the economic model of trading directly with small farmers internationally. In 2011, Nicole became president of Oke USA, the fresh produce subsidiary of Equal, and grew the $3M business to trading $16M of organic fair trade bananas from Ecuador and Peru and avocados from Mexico. Nicole rejoined the Equal Exchange leadership team in 2023 as a Vice President and co-owner and is proud to continue promoting the connection between small farmers in Latin America and consumers in the United States through the Equal Exchange Capital Model.