Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Community Development for PCSB Bank
Michelle A. Nicholas is the Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Community Development for PCSB Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of PCSB Financial Corporation. In this role, Ms. Nicholas is a member of the Bank’s senior staff responsible for leveraging diversity, inclusion and cross-cultural competency as well as engaging external community on issues of development to advance the organization’s mission and business objectives.
Focused on advancing the wellbeing of all, her approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion is creating opportunities through internal and external community building and using data-driven insights to create interventions that cultivate positive cultural shifts toward unbiased recruitment, promotion practices, and the increased sense of belonging. She ensures accountability for inclusive excellence through the implementation and assessment of strategic diversity initiatives by all Bank divisions in concert with relevant colleagues. Nicholas provides oversight for the Bank’s Diversity and community development Initiatives and is responsible for managing the diversity unit’s operational budget; and oversees the staff support for diversity planning. Ms. Nicholas engages in grants review as a member of the Bank’s Foundation Board of Directors to help meet local needs and to enrich the quality of life for all throughout the Bank’s footprint. Prior to joining PCSB Bank, Nicholas was the Executive Director at Girls Inc. of Westchester County. Michelle has spent over two decades in various government, corporate and non-profit positions, focused on accessing funding for programs and initiatives to benefit those who need it most, while ensuring that those who support these opportunities remain engaged and enthused. Passionate about community and service, her civic involvement includes board membership for the United Way of Westchester and Putnam, NonProfit Westchester, Westchester’s Women Agenda, Westchester County’s African American Advisory Board. Nicholas is an advocate of women, children, and social justice issues working locally and internationally to instigate change through intentional strategies.
She has been recognized by the Westchester Magazine, Westchester Business Council, The Network Journal, United Way of Westchester and Putnam, Face2Face Africa, Caribbean Life and Women of Mission International for her work in bridging the gap between available resources and those who need them.
Ms. Nicholas is a graduate of the University of Guyana in Economics and Social Work; Volunteer New York’s Leadership Westchester; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Citizens’ Academy; and Mount Vernon Citizens’ Police Academy.
Workshop Title: Empowered Women Eliminating Racism
Hear from women who are doing the work – the inner work to heal themselves and the external work to make their communities and the world a more racially equitable place for us all. Through stories of their personal experiences, attendees will be inspired and also receive applicable tools to build their own resilience and make true impact.