Niya Nicholson is a celebrated leader known for championing opportunity access, building impactful businesses, and advancing creative careers. Niya’s decade-long leadership as founding Executive Director of MOVE|NYC| has helped to shape a renowned civic arts nonprofit that is recognized for "Changing the Face of Dance." A Harlem native, former dance student at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, Vassar graduate receiving the inaugural ALANA Exemplary Commitment to the Arts Award, Board Chair of MICHIYAYA Dance, and trusted advisor, Niya's mission is to propel visionary creatives and institutions toward their next level of impact.Niya’s career began in leadership roles with premier dance organizations. Niya served as Development Manager at Gibney Dance, where she was part of a 3-person team that led a successful $1M+ capital campaign resulting in 6 new high-tech studios and the first-ever elevator at 280 Broadway, and as the Director of Development at the José Limón Dance Foundation.

Before the launch of MOVE|NYC| in 2015, Niya was the organization’s sole volunteer administrator and was promoted to founding Executive Director in 2023, expanding its operating budget from $25K to $1.6M and its programmatic reach to D.C. and Scotland. MOVE|NYC| celebrated its 10th Anniversary milestone in 2025, marking Niya’s tenth year with the organization.Niya has a longstanding relationship with Dance/NYC, including being an inaugural member of the Symposium Programming Committee and Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Harassment. She was Co-Chair of the 2017–18 Dance/NYC Junior Committee, where she co-founded a Mentorship Program and implemented Anti-Racism Trainings. Niya has contributed to Dance/NYC’s symposiums as a featured speaker and a two-time SMART Bar Consultant. In 2024, Niya served as the Program Consultant for Dance/NYC’s 4th Dance Advancement Fund. She supported the program’s development and led webinars and one-on-one technical assistance for applicants, awarding nearly 30 grants to dance making organizations and groups. Niya is presently Dance/NYC’s Grantmaking Consultant. Additional grantmaking experience includes the New York State Council on the Arts and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs’ Cultural Development Fund.Niya’s leadership has been recognized as a 2025 Nonprofit Power Player by Politics NY and amNY, which features transformative change-agents who are “the driving forces shaping a better New York.” Niya was selected for the New York Foundation for the Arts’ 2023 Incubator for Executive Leaders of Color (10% acceptance rate) and later served as an adjudicator for the 2024 cohort and was selected as a mentor for the 2025 cohort. Niya was selected as a 2018–19 mentee in the Dance/USA Institute for Leadership Training (9% acceptance rate). As a speaker and moderator, Niya has partnered with American Express, OneCause, the International Association of Blacks in Dance, Dance/USA, Dance/NYC, MOVE|NYC|, New York Foundation for the Arts, Gibney Dance, Vassar College, and SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance.

Beyond the creative and cultural sector, her personal interests include exotic animal care, voiceover work, acting, and screenwriting.

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