For Nichelle Gilbert, her journey to become executive director unfolded naturally.
Growing up in Albuquerque and raised by a strong matriarchal family, the principle of giving back is part of her upbringing. “I don’t know that I could pinpoint the time I decided to do community work. It’s just been a part of my own fabric since I can remember.”
Her journey began as a student involved with El Centro and the Afro at the University of New Mexico, and later as an advisor in pipeline programs meant to connect the university with the community, but it wasn’t always easy to act upon strong partnerships in service of community. “There were procedural roadblocks that prevented us from truly meeting the needs of the community in a timely and resourced way.” Though she continued working in academia after earning her master’s, her efforts to support children, immigrant families, and mixed-status families within institutional constraints left her wanting a more direct way to make a difference.
Then, a single meeting over coffee changed everything.
“I met with Javier Martinez, and my perspective changed, honestly.” He spoke of an Operations Director role at the Partnership for Community Action (PCA). It was an invitation into grassroots organizing, a space where change was driven by community voices. “The welcome was immediate, but what struck me was the work itself. People organizing with power and conviction,” she says. “I knew this was where I needed to be.”
Early on, Nichelle did not imagine herself leading the organization. “I’m a back-of-the-house person,”she said. But within PCA’s culture of community investment and trust, her leadership took root organically, moving from Operations Director to Associate Director. “Coming into my own agency and leadership was part of what PCA supported. It expanded what I saw as possible for my career and my connection to change.”
Then in 2023, when PCA entrusted her to serve as Executive Director, Nichelle embraced both 
the responsibility and gift of it.
“I was honored to have been trusted to work alongside this community.” As PCA’s first woman Executive Director, she committed to strengthening what had always defined the organization, relationships and investment in community power. “People have always had agency. Our work is ensuring the systems reflect that—that community voice is the blueprint for change,” she says. Her leadership wasn’t about directing a top down strategy but about nurturing the connections and collective strength that make transformation possible.
During her time at PCA, a community-driven vision flourished. The Social Enterprise Center was completed, built collectively through engagement at every stage. New Mexico’s first Baby Bonds Initiative launched, supporting families with invested savings and re-imagining wealth building from birth. PCA’s work alongside childcare providers created intentional space for advocacy, business development and dignified workforce growth, nurturing a thriving network rooted in mutual support.
Working alongside community expanded what was possible: more policy change, partnership opportunities, and systems designed by and for the neighbors they served.
“Community voice doesn’t just inform our work, it drives it,” she says. “Top-down solutions might look efficient, but they often fail because they are disconnected from the lived reality of the people they claim to serve.”
For Nichelle, leadership means amplifying community wisdom and investing in collective power. Her path proves that transformative systems change emerges when leaders build from the foundation of community knowledge and trust people to shape their own futures.
Today Nichelle is a Vice President of Network Member Success at Purpose Built Communities, where she supports community based organizations in designing and implementing strategies that drive holistic neighborhood transformation.