Lisel Burns was raised in a cross-class background, as a Navy brat who moved around frequently with her family. As she continued to move through life, in 1967 Lisel found her direction in life which solidified her calling through working on a project with students from other colleges. The project was designed in an effort to support African American students who chose to integrate into white high schools. The experience allowed Ms. Burns to discover role models in multiracial partnerships guiding the civil rights movement and understood the importance of powerful and effective grassroots partnerships in overcoming a community’s obstacles.Over the years, Lisel has continued to develop leadership skills in others which ultimately drover her work in the NYC neighborhoods, helping them to organize child care centers by obtaining funding and granting of services.
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Lisel was able to utilize the National Congress of Neighborhood Women (NCNW) platform to foster cooperation among grassroots leaders and their potential partners to organize community-run child care centers. In doing so, the centers were able to obtain funding that was otherwise granted to “professional” social service agencies. Ms. Burns’ role was largely facilitative, promoting a shared culture we called the “Leadership Support Process” (LSP). In addition to her work with NCNW, her involvement with the global networks, GROOTS and Huairou Commission, that eventually evolved her passion for Haiti, where she completed a significant amount of work as a clergy for the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture (BSEC). As the years progressed, Ms. Burns co-founded Stronger Together Across Traditions in a collaboration with Jaque DuPree and Yoleine Gateau in an effort to bring different people together and communicate from the heart.
Her global leadership work includes consulting and serving as a board member of the National Congress of Neighborhood Women and the Huairou Commission, a grassroots women’s network, where she managed multimillion-dollar partnerships and grants across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, strengthening organizational capacity and amplifying grassroots women’s voices in global policymaking. She has presented at major conferences including the Global Education Forum, the National Council for the Social Studies, iEARN International Conferences, and the Celebration of Teaching & Learning Conference in New York City.
Nicolle’s academic journey reflects her deep commitment to leadership and development. She earned her Doctor of Education in Leadership from the American College of Education in 2023, with a dissertation exploring the lived experiences of grassroots women leaders globally. She also holds a Master of Educational Leadership, a Master of Science in Public and Urban Policy from The New School, a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of International Studies from the School for International Training. Her fieldwork has taken her to South Africa, Morocco, Namibia, Germany, Mexico, and beyond.
Her contributions have been recognized through numerous fellowships and honors, including a Fulbright Fellowship in Namibia, a Development Capital Fund Research Fellowship in South Africa, and a Moroccan Association for Solidarity & Development Fellowship. She was named Teacher of the Year, served as an Adobe Youth Voices Lead Educator, and was honored as an iEARN Global Ambassador and Master Trainer.
Across her career, Nicolle has blended academic rigor with practical leadership, building partnerships, advancing policy advocacy, and empowering communities. Whether in the classroom, on international stages, or within grassroots networks, she is dedicated to cultivating transformative leadership and fostering sustainable community development.
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