Nicole Franklin is the Director of Communications for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of University Marketing and Communications. Nicole was previously the Public Information Officer (PIO II) for the City of St. Louis Department of Public Safety where she was responsible for media relations, press releases, content creation, strategic communications for nine divisions including the City of St. Louis Fire Department, Corrections, the Office of Violence Prevention, Excise, Buildings and Problem Properties Team. When not on a media call, Nicole conducts classes as a certified American Red Cross® Adult and Pediatric CPR/First Aid/AED Instructor. Nicole is an award-winning filmmaker, freelance journalist, ghostwriter, and 30-year veteran of local and network news in both Los Angeles and New York. With work on several Emmy Award-winning teams including NBC Nightly News and CBS Sunday Morning in her background she launched the podcast series Before You Go, featuring first-person narratives from centenarians. Her decades-long career as a video editor led to her new role as a docuseries story producer. Story producer credits include NAACP Image Award double nominee The Hair Tales, executive produced by HULU and OWN. Her filmmaking credits include the award-winning TITLE VII and her Sundance Channel debut feature, I Was Made to Love Her: the Double Dutch Documentary. Her other credits include The Double Dutch Divas!, Journeys in Black: the Jamie Foxx Biography, Gershwin & Bess: A Dialogue with Anne Brown, and the documentary series Little Brother. Nicole’s portfolio garnered numerous festival awards including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival, and grant awards from The Jerome Foundation, New York Women in Film & Television and Foundation to Promote Open Society/Campaign for Black Male Achievement. Nicole continues to be recognized for changing the narrative when it comes to stories featuring communities of color in the United States and indigenous communities in the U.S. and abroad. Her distinctive research and interviewing style often result in extraordinary access to the innermost revelations from real-life characters. Nicole is a member of the Directors Guild, Producers Guild, New York Women in Film & Television, Film Fatales, Black Documentary Collective, Writers Guild of America Women of Color Caucus and National Association of Black Journalists.