NICOLE LI
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UNITED STATES, 20
Project: Collierville Community Justice
Focus Area: Racial/Economic Inequality
Nicole is a lead organizer of Collierville Community Justice (CCJ), a grassroots coalition of citizens working to challenge systems of institutional racism in Collierville, Tennessee. Since its inception in August 2020, CCJ has campaigned to remove Confederate monuments, uplift Collierville’s Black history, combat voter suppression, establish a DEI town commission and organize mutual aid for marginalized community members. Through advocacy, education and service, CCJ aims to advance racial equity and amplify BIPOC voices in a predominantly white, conservative town.
Nicole believes strongly in the mobilizing power of young people, which she embodies in her role as CCJ’s Youth Director and youngest Steering Committee member. She is deeply passionate about a progressive future for the American South, having worked on several campaigns to elect progressive BIPOC candidates to municipal and state office in Tennessee. Furthermore, Nicole has worked with the ACLU of Tennessee, Memphis March For Our Lives, and Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi to organize campaigns for voting rights, gun violence prevention and reproductive rights in her home state.
Nicole currently attends Yale University, where she co-leads a student group working to provide access to DEI training to all undergraduate students. At Yale, Nicole is a Women in Government Fellow, Newman Civic Fellow and Board member of the Reproductive Justice Action League. She has been recognized as an International Leadership Foundation Civic Fellow, Invisalign ChangeMaker and a Mississippi Delta Scholar for her commitment to serving her hometown and campus communities.