Nicole D. Collier grew up in Atlanta, GA, the only child of an accountant and a public school librarian. After graduating from Atlanta Public Schools, she went on to Florida A&M University where she finished summa cum laude. She later earned an M.S. from Florida State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.
After a career as a fourth grade teacher, she’s now a change strategist and leadership coach at Personality Matters, an executive training and development firm.
Although Nicole writes for all ages, her first love is middle grade contemporary fiction. Young people are trying to discern who they are vs. who they want to be, and how to bridge the gap between the two. Nicole’s stories are in that gap.
The Georgia peach has recently relocated to St. Petersburg, Florida with her husband, Phillip. A self-proclaimed ever-victorious woman, she’s been known to run, dance, and turn cartwheels on sunny days.
She’s the author of Just Right Jillian and The Many Fortunes of Maya (HarperCollins/Versify).
“We loved having Nicole visit our school and meet our grade three to six students. She did an outstanding job relating her books to our students! Her advocacy of being true to yourself resonated with so many of our students as they devoured her details of drawing inspiration from her experience. She also talked about how she crafted different characters and asked for students’ input for her new book, which excited the audience greatly. They felt as if Nicole was someone who “got” them and understood their social and emotional struggles. We can’t wait to read her next book!” – Jun Niu, Holton-Arms School, 2023
