Who hasn’t been forced to reinvent themselves at some point in their life, or maybe even from time to time?
Reinvention is not a foreign concept to Nickole Hendra. Not in her role as the new executive director of a nonprofit that helps unemployed and underemployed women get a strong foothold in the workforce. And not as a professional who developed her own career after being a stay-at-home mom.
Andrea Melendez Andrea Melendez/The News-Press/U
Nickole Hendra is the new director of Dress for Success SW Florida.
Nickole’s path from volunteerism to the world of nonprofits led her to Dress for Success SW Florida in September 2016 when she was hired as director of development. There were plans to groom Nickole for the executive director position, though the promotion came much sooner than expected after Barbara Dell announced she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Barbara, the group’s beloved leader of almost 10 years, “started taking me under her wing,” Nickole recalls.
So Nickole became the first new face of the organization since Barbara opened the nonprofit’s doors in 2010 after losing her own job at a department store during the Great Recession.
“Since becoming the executive director, I’ve learned it’s a lot harder to be the face of an organization than I thought. We’ve had to overcome rebranding ourselves in the community and letting people know we’re still here,” Nickole says.
This isn’t the first time Nickole, 51, has launched a rebranding campaign. Following her divorce, Nickole traded her decade-long mommy hat for business attire.
“It’s very scary. I wish I had known about this; it would have helped me transition from the home to the workforce,” Nickole says. “There’s a lot of obstacles people don’t understand. You’re out of the loop.”
She gained invaluable fundraising experience when she was a stay-at-home mom to her two daughters and was asked to help organize a local golf tournament to raise funds for the national Hunter’s Hope Foundation, which is focused on a rare genetic disease and drew NFL players for celebrity power.
The golf tournament experience inspired her to stay in the nonprofit world, and she worked with the American Heart Association and Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties.
Curious about other careers, Nickole took a detour as a dental assistant, but she missed working in a nonprofit environment.
“You don’t have as much interaction with the public when you’re in an office eight hours a day,” she notes.
So, she knows a thing or two about starting over, which is exactly what Dress for Success is all about. It bolsters vulnerable women to build financial independence. It receives referrals from 65 other organizations, such as Abuse Counseling and Treatment Inc., Our Mother’s Home and the Salvation Army, and works with women who may be entering the workforce for the first time or late in life following divorce or widowhood. Often, these women lack self-confidence, professional soft skills and sometimes a high school diploma. Some haven’t applied for a job in so long that they are unfamiliar with online application skills.
Dress for Success participants are connected with a volunteer personal shopping assistant at its Fort Myers or Naples boutique, which are stocked with dresses, shoes, handbags and accessories donated by local women at various events held throughout Southwest Florida each year. They choose an interview outfit and a week’s worth of workwear. Last year, 289 women in Lee and Collier acquired business wardrobes. They can also apply to participate in a six-week training and mentorship program.
Of late, Nickole had been focused on the March 8 gala, the annual fashion show coupled with gaming and other festivities held fittingly on International Women’s Day. This year’s event chair is community leader Gail Markham, who is being honored for her long dedication to the organization. She is one of the successful executives who has coached participants in the Women Empowered Through Employment Series.
“There are so many powerful women we’d like to honor because of their drive and the impact they’ve had on local women,” Nickole says.
Since becoming executive director, Nickole has facilitated the opening of the Naples clothing boutique, and she is addressing the organization’s five-year plan to open a boutique with volunteers in Charlotte and Hendry counties, and eventually in Immokalee, where “there’s a huge need,” she says.
Dress for Success has two staff members, which includes Nickole.
Now an empty-nester, Nickole has headed back to the gym and is focusing on her fitness.
Otherwise, she finds herself concentrating on her role in the organization sustained by 75 volunteers, from personal shoppers to personal coaches.
“I’m continuing with Barbara’s legacy. It was her baby. She held it near and dear to her heart. She started it when it was definitely needed, and it still is,” she says. “It’s going to continue to thrive and grow on her behalf.”