Nicole Santero

Go-to boba drink: Rose milk tea with grass jelly
Nicole Santero joined OCA in 2018 and has lived in Las Vegas for 15+ years. She is currently the senior director of marketing & communications at BES (build. excel. sustain.), a national nonprofit that provides leadership development and training to school leaders and helps them build locally-responsive schools across the country. Previously, she led communications efforts in her work at the UNLV School of Public Health, Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, and Clark County School District. In addition to serving on the OCA Las Vegas board, she is a member of the board of trustees for Nevada DECA as well as a board member and chair of the IDEA committee for Girls on the Run Las Vegas. She also served on the advisory board of the Nevada Minority Health & Equity Coalition (NMHEC) for three years. Beyond her professional career and service, Nicole is a published researcher on the topics of social media networks, fan culture, and global social movements. Her work on the ARMY fandom–fans of the popular music group BTS–has been featured in publications such as the Harvard Misinformation Review. She has served as a research consultant to teams at Twitter and Meta, and has given guest lectures at institutions including Yale, University of Washington, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She and her work have been highlighted in media around the world including TIME Magazine, NBC News, BBC Radio, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, NowThis, Aljazeera, NPR and more. Nicole hopes the next generation of AAPIs feel empowered to embrace their identity and leverage their passions to make a difference in their communities and the world.