Deirdre Lynch Nicholson brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in the Education, Child Advocacy, and Nonprofit Management sectors to her role as Executive Director for NAEHCY. Most recently Deirdre served as Organizational Ombuds for Atlanta Public Schools where she led stakeholder advocacy initiatives, dispute resolution, and equity-focused policy analysis on behalf of more than 50,000 students.
Previously, Deirdre served as Education Program Manager with the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, the largest federally funded initiative for out-of-school time programming that serves more than 30,000 students annually throughout Georgia. Deirdre’s extensive work in education also included her role as a consultant with the GaDOE Federal Programs Division where she advocated on behalf of students and families experiencing homelessness. She also gained a wealth of federal policy and legal advocacy experience through her work as a Legal Fellow with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and with the Office of the Secretary of Education where she worked as part of a policy development team for Race to the Top, a $4.35 billion discretionary grant initiative.
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Deirdre earned a Juris Doctor from the Indiana University- Bloomington Maurer School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A champion for student success, Deirdre is driven by the desire to remove barriers and enhance advocacy for families who need assistance navigating the complexities of the Education landscape. She believes that critical conversations and strategy development centered in equity serve as the foundation for identifying and meeting the unique support needs of students and families. Equity should be at the core of every discussion surrounding student outcomes, educational services, family engagement, and policy.