Niya Nicholson is a respected leader known for championing opportunity access, building impactful businesses, and advancing creative careers. Niya's decade-plus leadership as founding Executive Director of MOVE|NYC| has helped shape a renowned civic arts nonprofit recognized for "Changing the Face of Dance." A Harlem native and former dance student at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, Niya is a Vassar graduate and recipient of the inaugural ALANA Exemplary Commitment to the Arts Award. Her 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, serving as Development Manager at Gibney Dance, where she was part of a 3-person team that led a successful capital campaign resulting in six new high-tech studios and the first-ever elevator at 280 Broadway, and as 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 $1.7M+ 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 and counting.

Niya was selected as a 2018-19 mentee in the Dance/USA Institute for Leadership Training (9% acceptance rate), where she credits being paired with the phenomenal Toni Pierce-Sands with meaningfully shaping her leadership trajectory. She was later selected for the New York Foundation for the Arts' 2023 Incubator for Executive Leaders of Color (10% acceptance rate) and went on to serve as an adjudicator for the 2024 cohort and a mentor for the 2025 cohort, returning again as a mentor in 2026.

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 two-time SMART Bar Consultant. She served as Program Consultant for the 4th Dance Advancement Fund in 2024, leading webinars and technical assistance that resulted in nearly 30 grants awarded, and is presently serving in that role again for the 5th iteration, hosting cohort convenings and continuing to steward the program's growth. 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." In 2026, Niya was selected as an inaugural recipient of the Black Art Fund for Dance, made possible by the International Association of Blacks in Dance and the Wallace Foundation, and was recently featured on Lite FM Radio discussing dance education and community impact.

Today, Niya equips artists and organizations with strategic resources and roadmaps to deepen their purpose and expand their possibilities through NOWNEXT by NN, her boutique consultancy.

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.

Niya recently completed a six-year term as Board Chair of MICHIYAYA Dance, a working board, and contributes to professional committees for Dance/NYC and the Women's Leadership Council.

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