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Aerial View of a Busy Area

Working with and in support of teams reducing disparate impact within the social determinants of health. 

Welcome to my portfolio!

 

I'm Nikola, a New York City-based programs and partnerships strategist, designer, and manager passionate about launching and sustaining equitable, responsive, and networked NYC based programs and services. 

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Most recent impact.

As the lead coach and technical assistance provider for a community-centered mini-grant program in four cities, I effectively supported cities in re-thinking how existing city resources can be deployed to address the diverse needs of community members. This resulted in enhanced social cohesion, cost savings for community members, and a transformative shift in the narrative surrounding impacted community members. Our achievements were evident through positive feedback from community members and increased engagement of a more diverse pool of local volunteers, who were motivated to take action. My approach had both immediate impact and established the groundwork for sustainable long-term change in the grant-recipient cities.

Passion + Five Steps

My passion lies in designing, managing, and continually improving programs and services that touch the lives of countless community members. These initiatives not only showcase the values and goals of our anchor organization, but also demonstrate our staff's expertise, our deep understanding of the community, and our creativity in addressing their needs. I am committed to delivering programs and services that make a meaningful impact on people's lives.

What I bring to the leaders and teams I am fortunate to join is a five-step approach to understanding, creating, or retrofitting strategically chosen programs and services. Together, we could:

  1. Establish a representative team to perform an assessment in order to discover opportunities and assets. This includes looking into the following:

    1. Gaps between intentions and impact;​

    2. Roles of key players;

    3. Entry points for partners and program/service participants. 

  2. Break the program and service into their life cycle stages.

  3. Develop a new program or retrofit design for the program and service. 

  4. Establish a retrofit and peer learning plan. 

  5. Implement and continuously improve the retrofit plan. 

The five-step approach enables colleagues to catalyze and sustain programs and services that:

  • Measurably improve community member quality of life through agency and participation. 

  • Increase satisfaction with services and programs of the host anchor organization(s). 

  • Address structural problems, not just symptoms of individual harm.

  • Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of resources being used.

  • Upskill and highlight staff with 21st-century skills throughout the process. 

Testimonials

“Nikola finds solutions to problems without focusing completely on barriers. Even when applying a systems lens he grounds the work in communities being impacted.”

Rose - Program Officer at the Tepper Foundation

My decade-long career in community engagement and program strategy, design, management, and continuous improvement has been shaped by these amazing organizations:

Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation | Cities of Service 
City of Dubuque
| CultureAll  | ChildServe  

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