ABOUT NICOLA
The Short Version
I am a Master’s-prepared counselor, community builder, storyteller and poet with four decades of experience working across clinical, educational and community settings. I facilitate, consult, speak, write and lead historical tours — and the thread connecting all of it is the same: a deep love of people and a belief in the power of story to heal, connect and transform.
The Longer Story
I was born in Kingston, Jamaica — land of wood and water — and have carried that island spirit with me across Florida, North Carolina and Georgia, building a life and a body of work shaped by curiosity, creativity and genuine human connection.
My professional life has never fit neatly into one box — and I have stopped trying to make it. I have worked as a school counselor, a substance abuse therapist, a juvenile detention counselor, a community engagement lead, a lifestyle coach, a home educator, a grant writer, a programme director and a private practitioner. In every role, what mattered most was the relationship — the moment of real contact between two people, or within a group, when something true gets said and something shifts.
Alongside my clinical and community work, I founded Morning Glory Inspirations — an umbrella for creative, cultural and community-based initiatives rooted in storytelling, history and place. Through Morning Glory I have documented African American history through oral history projects, produced a self-guided heritage walking tour, secured grant funding for historical markers, facilitated community gatherings and created a card inspiration deck. I also wrote and self-published my poetry collection, Morning Glory: Poetry and Reflections — a project that taught me, as I wrote at the time, that when we are aligned with what is true, we create with love and love touches everyone in its path.
I am also, quietly and persistently, a gardener. My love of gardening is not separate from my work — it was planted by my father and it found its way into the world through the Peace Tree Garden Project, one of the initiatives closest to my heart.
What I Bring
I am not a traditional consultant or a traditional therapist or a traditional anything, really. What I bring is a rare combination:
✦ Deep clinical training and four decades of direct human service ✦ Real community organizing and cross-sector collaboration experience ✦ Creative vision — in writing, storytelling, programme design and public engagement ✦ Cultural fluency across generations, backgrounds and life circumstances ✦ A genuine, unhurried presence with people
I work well independently and within teams. I am equally at home in a boardroom, a community garden, a school hallway, a detention facility or a poetry stage. I do not thrive behind a desk for eight hours — I thrive in motion, in relationship and in the work itself.
A Few Things I Believe
That every person has a story worth telling. That communities heal when they remember who they are. That good work begins with listening. That creativity and service are not opposites — they are the same impulse.
Let’s Connect
If something here resonates — if you are looking for a facilitator, a speaker, a consultant, a tour guide or simply someone who will show up fully and bring others with her — I would love to hear from you.
📧 nicolakaresh@gmail.com
Morning Glory Inspirations 