Nicole De Von
Executive Director
Nicole De Von is Mescalero Apache and was born and raised in the state of Washington.
Nicole previously held a role as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Tribal Affairs Manager for the Family Support Division of Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services. She has more than 20 years of experience in Native education, having worked with Native students from Head-Start to University. Prior to moving to Louisiana, Nicole worked at Eastern Washington University for 15 years, there she served as the coordinator for Native American student programs and later as the Director of Native American Affairs and Tribal Liaison to the President of Eastern Washington University.
During her time as Director of Native American Affairs she led the Lucy Covington Initiative, a partnership with Covington’s family and the Colville Confederated Tribes to honor the legacy of Lucy Covington, a tribal rights activist and rancher who worked tirelessly to preserve tribal sovereignty and self-determination while uplifting the next generation of Native leaders through mentorship.
Nicole has Double Master’s in Education and Intercultural Communications where her research focused on equity, access, and retention for Native American students. In addition to her work in education, Nicole has spent 20 years as a DEI consultant where she utilizes an intercultural framework and is a Qualified Administrator of the IDI (Intercultural Development Inventory)
Nicole has served on several advisory boards and task force’s; including Spokane County Human Rights Task Force, Spokane Public Schools- Superintendent’s Community Action Team on Disproportionality, and EWU – Office of Diversity and Inclusion.