Nicole Blackwood plays a leadership role in shaping and advancing institutional priorities related to organic revenue, enrollment growth, and long-term sustainability. She previously served as Creative Director at Ralston College, where she guided the overall brand strategy and established the creative and aesthetic direction for marketing, campus facilities, special events, and the student experience.

She received her Honors BA in Art History from the University of Toronto and her MA and PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art, focusing on the theory and practice of European painting in the Renaissance. For more than a decade, she has taught at several universities in North America, has held fellowships at Harvard, Yale, and the University of Toronto, and has worked with collections, museums and historic properties in Canada, England, and the United States. Her academic writing has been published by the National Portrait Gallery of Art, the Oxford Art Journal, and the Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek. In addition to her scholarly work, Dr Blackwood previously established and operated two companies: Disegno, an art advising and appraisal firm, and Art & Amble, an educational-travel company based in Savannah.