Nicole Mendoza

Led research strategy for a startup nonprofit dedicated to reforming institutional accountability in public safety journalism. Spearheaded multiple initiatives to support organizational belief that training, policy, and cultural shifts can change outcomes.

• Produced high-profile, media-facing research briefs and toolkits that translated rigorous findings into accessible public narratives, actively shaping the national conversation on systems accountability and justice reform.
• Led mixed-methods research investigating how institutional media incentives shape public narratives around crime statistics. Applied an intellectually honest framework to clearly delineate empirically grounded data trends from speculative or sensationalized reporting.
• Coordinated an interdisciplinary research focus group, bridging academic professionals from Colombia, NYU, and USC to co-design a research-informed university journalism. curriculum.
• Directed cross-functional teams and external consultants, managing complex deliverables against strict grant timelines.

Directed a 20-member cross-functional team of subject matter experts, frontline facilitators, and program staff to design and deliver trauma-informed, equity-centered curricula for the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Office of Child Abuse Prevention (OCAP) and In Home Support Services (IHSS) Training Academy.

• Directed statewide, delivery-oriented professional training initiatives for California’s CDSS IHSS social services workforce, operating at the critical intersection of frontline practice, state-level policy requirements, and adult learning science.
• Supervised program evaluation team and designed research-based evaluative framework to enhance program accountability and effectiveness.
• Supervised a dedicated program evaluation team and designed a research-based evaluative framework.
• Translated complex evaluation data and research findings into accessible public-facing assets such as training videos, toolkits, and research briefs, ensuring diverse audiences understood critical insights.
• Authored research briefs and practical toolkits synthesizing program evaluations into actionable guidance for family support agencies, facilitating the application of state data in practice.