Hi, I’m Nicola, a tech professional based in California. I cultivate community through content. A highly skilled people person and self-directed program manager, I establish, lead and scale programs to empower users and catalyse business growth. Adept and adaptable, I specialise in working cross-functionally in a distributed environment. Above all, I love connecting people with their interests and each other.
A few nice things people have said about working with me:
- Working with someone like Nicola, with notable attention to detail, creativity, and a clear communication style, was a really pleasure.
- Nicola is a top notch leader. Deeply trusted by our teacher community, with intimate knowledge of their content, she is a strong advocate for both teachers and the business. Her cool-as-a-cucumber demeanour and clever wit bring a calm and impactful energy to the team.
- Nicola is a wonderful colleague and thought partner who manages to bring levity to every conversation.
Welcome to my online portfolio. Read all about my experience at organisations like Skillshare, Yelp, the BBC, Channel 4, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Current Role
Program & Community Manager, Skillshare (Dec 2022 – Present)
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes for creative and curious people, on topics including illustration, design, photography, video, freelancing, and more. On Skillshare, members come together to find inspiration and take the next step in their creative journey.
My role:
I lead the Top Teacher program which celebrates, supports and retains the top 2% of creators who drive ~40% of all minutes watched on the Skillshare platform.
At Skillshare I:
- Am the linchpin connecting our top creators with the organization.
- Advocate for and represent our creator community cross-functionally across the company. This includes collaborating with Executive, Product, Growth, Brand, and Operations on strategic initiatives and teacher experience improvements.
- Manage teacher communications at-scale with our community of over 8000 active creators.
- Create and deliver a comprehensive year-round program for all of our creator programs (not just Top Teachers) which educates over 500 teachers on our product and encourages quality teaching aligned with our content strategy.
- Provide internal employee-facing programming in support of our teachers.
- Commission and deliver partnership content to brand partners like Procreate, Adobe, Mozilla, and more.
Results:
- Top Teacher viewer share has risen by 20% through strategic selection & coaching.
- Top Teacher NPS score has risen +24 points Y/Y. Promoters cite my relationship building & support.
Recent projects:
- Supported the launch of Procreate Dreams through a Procreate brand partnership. Commissioned & produced eight community classes with select Top Teachers, commissioned & contributed to several Live Sessions.
- Community-side integration activities supporting the acquisition of Superpeer at Skillshare, driving Top Teacher adoption & success on the new platform. Check out Superpeer here: https://superpeer.com/
Previous Roles
Community & Marketing Director, Yelp (Nov 2016 – Nov 2022)
Yelp.com connects people with great local businesses.
My role:
- Grew a vibrant Yelp community in Fresno. 300% community growth and sustained growth at +12% over similar markets. Top 5 of 80 markets in growth.
- Regular contributor to national campaigns. Led editorial efforts for Top Local Lists campaign, resulting in +400% pageviews and +25% blog clicks.
- Managed and prioritized simultaneous projects across marketing, content and events; adept project management, scope, and execution.
- Created and curated content for weekly newsletters and social media.
- Built and executed self-driven regional marketing campaigns. Spring Fling campaign gained 15% growth in Yelper contributions Y/Y.
- Worked cross-functionally on department-wide initiatives.
- Worked directly with business owners to optimize their marketing strategies.
- Blog Committee Managing Editor: led on editorial guidelines, content strategy, SEO.
Content Strategist, Third Sector Lab (2011–2021)
Third Sector Lab is a digital agency specialising in building conversations for social enterprises, community groups, charities, and the public sector.
I’ve worked with Third Sector Lab to implement new websites for charity clients. This included initial content strategy, copywriting and editing. I also managed multiple content projects for their clients across blogs, video, and social media channels.
Clients have included Glasgow Disability Alliance, Bazooka Arts, Victim Support Scotland, Relationships Scotland, Drink Wise Age Well, and Relationships Matter.
Content Marketing & Community Building, Small is Beautiful (2015-2017)
Small is Beautiful was an annual inspiration conference for the microbusiness community in Scotland.
I worked with Roanne Dods on planning, executing, and marketing the conference over 3 years. I led on communications and content strategy across our projects. I also managed a team of freelance organisers to sign up speakers, execute our PR strategy, and took a hands-on approach to our content marketing. This included diigtal content strategy, copywriting, community management, and email marketing.
Freelance Community Manager, Paved With Gold (2013–2016)
Paved With Gold specialises in product launches and growing online communities. I have worked with co-founder Kaye Symington on projects for clients like Egmont Publishing.
Copywriter, Russwood (2016-2017)
Russwood Ltd is a Scottish supplier of high-quality, sustainable timber flooring, cladding and decking products.
I acted as copywriter for Russwood Profile, the company’s outgoing newsletter and case studies.
Copywriter, Guildhall School of Music & Drama (2016)
The Guildhall School of Music & Drama is one of the world’s leading conservatoires and drama schools.
I was the copywriter for Guildhall’s PLAY Alumni Magazine, which involved conducting interviews with alum, copywriting, and copyediting.
Copywriter, RPS Assist for Insolvency Ventures (2016)
RPS Assist was a simple guide to the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) which helps employees who are made redundant through no fault of their own when their employer’s business closed due to insolvency.
I led on content strategy: completing tone of voice guidance, writing, optimising, and editing all content for the website. This was a unique project and a real challenge.
Copywriter & Editor, Telstra (2015)
Telstra is Australia’s largest telecommunications and media company. I wrote, edited and proofread customer-facing content across Telstra offerings.
Head of Content, Aconite Productions (2014)
Aconite Productions is a Scottish based production company that specialises in the production of quality feature documentaries for theatrical audiences and broadcast.I was their head of online marketing, which involved digital content strategy, copywriting, community management, and email marketing.
Writing & Broadcasting
Books Columnist: The Big Issue Magazine (2015–2018)
Regular Film Critic: BBC Radio Scotland (May 2011 – 2016)
Contributor:
Book reviewer for The List magazine.
Bylines in The Spectator, The Skinny, Film International, The National.
2009–2014
