Williston Northampton School is pleased to announce that Nikki Chambers will be the new Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), beginning on July 1, 2021. Following a national search process that garnered a talented pool of candidates, Williston’s hiring committee felt that Chambers brought the skills, experience, and vision to fill this new and historic leadership role, a position that will be a key element of our Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
Chambers comes to Williston with more than a decade of experience in higher education and enrollment management, serving most recently as the associate director of admission and coordinator of multicultural recruitment at Smith College, where she led all admission equity and inclusion initiatives. In this role, she oversaw community-based organization (CBO) engagement, programs for CBO leaders and prospective students of color. She also created the Smith Multicultural Admission Advisory Committee and acted as the liaison for the Smith Posse program, which recruits and supports diverse student groups throughout their college careers.
Before joining Smith, Chambers worked in the Office of Admissions at Barnard College of Columbia University for six years. While there, she served as the admission liaison for the Higher Education Opportunity Program, Barnard Opportunity Program, and the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program. She also served as the admissions representative for more than two dozen states across the country, as well as British Columbia. She has been the sister co-chair of the Association of Black Admissions and Financial Aid Officers of the Ivy-League and Sister Schools, a nationally recognized organization of more than 300 higher education professionals committed to access, equity, and inclusion for students at the undergraduate level and beyond. Chambers earned a Master of Arts in higher and postsecondary education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College, where she majored in history with a minor in African-American studies. She currently resides in Northampton, Massachusetts, with her plants.
In this new role at Williston, Chambers will manage and coordinate collaborative DEIB strategic initiatives across campus, partnering with students, faculty, administrative leaders, and trustees to shape and guide the school’s sustained efforts to build a culture of inclusion and belonging on campus.
We are excited to welcome Chambers in this new position.