Nichole at Work

Since Facebook was first created, when college emails were needed to access the site, Nichole took keen interest in social media, particularly in exploring, appreciating, and understanding the implications of instant access to the outside world. From there, her love and curiosity budded into a career understanding why and how brands should and could make use of digital tools and platforms.

Both online and unplugged, Nichole has spent most of her career in the food industry, starting with healthcare (food is medicine, after all), plowing through agriculture, and transitioning into the food industry, from a regional local grocer to her desk at MarketPlace, where she digs into all things digital, from analytics reporting to Facebook ad buying to Salesforce integrating.

A MINI HISTORY

Growing up in a small town, Nichole had always had her eyes on the city life. After college, she took an internship in New York City. This internship was a bit more than the getting coffee and running to the mail room that she expected. On day one, she had discussions with Facebook, Neilsen, Seth Godin, and Sir Martin Sorrell. She describes it as being a kid in a candy shop on Christmas with an unlimited budget and no capacity for overdoing it. Luckily for us (and her mom), she loves her mom and decided to move closer to home, landing herself in St. Louis and, eventually, MarketPlace.

Nichole at Home

Nichole is the Energizer Bunny on steroids. Among her many side hustles, she serves as President of the St. Louis Social Media Club and powerlifts. She currently holds the Missouri record for deadlift (405lbs), which she has not yet performed at a St. Louis Social Media Club event. When she’s not lifting or presidenting, she’s chasing her pup Rowan, whom she adopted two weeks after starting at MarketPlace.

RECENTLY PINNED

Every Sunday morning, like clockwork, for the better part of a decade, I scroll through PostSecret. People from all walks of life jot down some of their deepest secrets to be shared on a postcard and mail it in. Some are comically cynical, others showcase universal fears, some bring tears to your eyes, and others warm your soul. Whatever the case, it’s a good reminder, before getting to work, that the most important work is always, ultimately, about connecting to what makes us human.

Memorable Meal

You’ll regularly find Nichole hanging out with her favorite men of the Peter and Paul Community Services homeless shelter, serving (and sharing) a meal and, more importantly, conversation. The best meals often aren’t about the food itself, but rather the company in which the meal is shared. When she’s not busy feeding the homeless, Nichole serves on the Young Professionals Board of Peter and Paul Community Services, committing to be part of the solution to end homelessness in St. Louis.

Inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes into us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness.

- Brenda Ueland