VIVA NOLA January 2020

cultural influences made her feel as if
she did not fully belong anywhere. “As a
mixed-race woman, coming from Cuban
refugee immigrants on one side of the
family, and the other side being a white,
working-class family, I was a free/reducedlunch
kid. A lot of my marginalized
identities, as well as privileged identities
of [passing as] white, having lighter
skin than other members of the Cuban
side of my family, all these experiences
kind of blend together and have given
me a lot of empathy into what folks are
experiencing.”
All these experiences and the knowledge
acquired during her professional
development have been put to great use
in Nicole’s work. As the Associate Director
of Education & Programming at Beloved
Community, a non-profit consulting
firm focused on implementing regional,
sustainable solutions for diversity,
equity, and inclusion, Dr. Ralston, as
she is known professionally, finds it
important to evaluate organizations
through the lens of diversity, equity and
inclusion. She believes it is essential to
push people to think deeply about racial
equity, which permeates the education
system, businesses and everything in this
country. Guiding organizations through
the process of understanding who they
serve, who they hire, how they involve
the community, and what inclusion looks
like in their organization, contributes to
an intentional economic development. “I
want to leave a society where folks feel
included, where policies and practices
are equitable across identity markets like
race, gender, class, etcetera, and [I want]
us to treat each other better and get back
to centering humanity and who [we] are
as people. [I] want us to collectively work
together to uplift each other.”
Whether it is through her food blog at
influencer events, or at professional
speaking conferences, Nicole Caridad
strives to live her values. She keeps
busy with promoting restaurants in the
city, serving on the board of the ACLU,
being a publicity co-chair of the Hispanic
“I
want to leave a society
where folks feel included,
where policies and practices
are equitable across identity
markets like race, gender, class, etcetera,
and [I want] us to treat each other better
and get back to centering humanity and
who [we] are as people. [I] want us to
collectively work together to uplift each
other.”
Heritage Foundation’s annual Azúcar Ball,
consulting for organizations, and even
dancing in some of the city’s parades with
the Latinx dance group, Ritmeaux Krewe.
Nicole Caridad Ralston is certainly an
inspiring individual, a proud Latina,
and a passionate New Orleanian who
consciously contributes to the betterment
of our community and our society. She
uses her platforms to promote and uplift
businesses in New Orleans, discuss issues
Scan code above with phone to see Nicole’s
@eatenpathNOLA account
people are afraid to talk about, and to
promote the politics and values she
believes in. Nicole embraces her bicultural
roots, is a declared feminist, and couldn’t
do without her food blogging or her
consulting work. Through both identities
she has found the perfect balance to
promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
She stays connected to her community,
simply by doing what she loves and
sharing it with those around her.