Shelley Nicholls, an entrepreneurial leader known for optimizing and inspiring teams to achieve critical objectives, has been named the new Executive Director of The Carnegie Initiative on June 26, 2023.
Nicholls started her career in the automotive industry as an engineer and went on to lead $100M+ projects.
She has spent the past six years in the social profit sector and currently also serves as a consultant for EPIC Leadership in Toronto.
She has served as the Executive Director for several organizations since 2017 that include the Herbert H. Carnegie Future ACES Foundation, Sistering, and the Girls Inc. of Halton (Ontario).
She succeeds Stephanie Geosits, who has served as Executive Director since The CI’s inception.
“Stephanie has been the backbone of the success we have experienced in the past two years and we are deeply appreciative of her work to get us to this point,” The CI Co-Chair Bernice Carnegie stated.
“We are pleased to welcome Shelley to the team and look forward to her leading us to new heights in the years ahead. Her passion, drive, and experience makes her the ideal fit for this role to lead The CI and our work to make hockey more inclusive and welcoming for all,” Carnegie added.
Nicholls completed a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Ottawa, earned the Project Management Professional designation and graduated from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business MBA program.
Nicholls was born and raised in Montreal, the daughter of immigrants who moved to Canada from the Caribbean. She and her husband reside in the Greater Toronto Area and are the proud parents of four children (ages 10-17) that include three active hockey players. She also serves on the Board for Black Girl Hockey Club Canada.