Lisette Nieves

Lisette Nieves is an experienced social entrepreneur and public sector leader. She is currently a Partner at Lingo Ventures, her private business, where she provides consulting services to the nonprofit and public sector on growth, talent recruitment and retention, and change management. Prior to Lingo Ventures, Lisette served for two years as the Belle Zeller Distinguished Visiting Professor in Public Policy at the City University of New York at Brooklyn College. While a professor, she led the launch of a pilot workforce and community college partnership in Miami and Philadelphia. Nieves also served as the founding Executive Director of the workforce and education program Year Up NY, where in the span of five years she grew the organization from a $250,000 seed grant to a $6 million operation with 40 staff serving over 250 young adults annually. Lisette's government experience includes serving as the Chief of Staff at the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) for the City of New York and working at the Corporation for National Service launching and administering the AmeriCorps program. Board affiliations include: Fund for the City of New York, Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School Advisory Council, Stand for Children, and a White House appointment as a commissioner on the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Nieves holds a B.A. from Brooklyn College and an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. She is both a Truman Scholar and a Rhodes Scholar. Lisette is a Fellow of the 10th class of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.