I am who I am featuring Nicole M. Young
In this installment of the Detroit Worldwide Podcast, Marquis connects with artist, playwright, content creator, and educator, Nicole M. Young about her upbringing in Detroit, her transition to the New England area, and the community she's built in the last decade.
Nicole also discusses her career in the non-profit sector as well as her lived experience attending the University of Michigan during the height of affirmative action.
About Nicole:
Nicole M. Young is a performer, poet, playwright, director, producer, musician, nonprofit manager and educator with over 25 years of experience as a practicing artist. Nicole’s writing seeks to fill and complete the gaps for those whose presence is absent or misrepresented in mainstream media, especially women of color. Autobiographical in nature, Nicole’s poetry and plays reflect on personal experiences and how they’ve influenced the way she sees herself within the world around her. Nicole also teaches theatre and creative writing along with being invited to facilitate writing workshops for conferences and youth groups in New England.
Her play, get (t)his!, received a 2009 James Baldwin Memorial Playwriting Award from the Five Colleges Multicultural Theater Committee and has since been produced in Michigan and New York City. Her debut, self-produced spoken word album, In/Put: Live from the Valley, was released this past February. Recorded live in March of 2018 at CLICK Workspace in Northampton, Massachusetts the performance poetry of In/Put explores the challenges of being a Single, Black, Plus Size woman while dating in the monochromatic Pioneer Valley. Proceeds from album sales were used to establish a fellowship program for emerging women and nonbinary writers of color hosted through Straw Dog Writers Guild (where Nicole is also a member) with the program starting in January of 2020.
Nicole is also an experienced fundraiser, event planner and program developer with over 10 years of working in the nonprofit sector. Nicole serves as the Manager of Community Investments for United Way of Pioneer Valley where she administers their grantmaking program, manages their youth volunteerism initiative and community engagement projects including monthly convenings of colleges and universities throughout the region seeking to tackle food and housing insecurity suffered by their students.
Nicole earned a Bachelor of Theatre Arts from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Management from Wayne State University and a Master of Arts in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is also proud to have attended Detroit Public Schools, being an alumna of Mackenzie High School’s Class of 1997. Originally from Detroit, Nicole has lived in Western Massachusetts for over 12 years.
Connect with Nicole:
Website: https://www.nicolemyoung.com
Facebook: Nicole M. Young
Instagram: @coco_penexplore
Twitter: @coco_penexplore