Biography
Nicole A. Streeter is a visionary healthcare philanthropy executive and trusted governance strategist with more than two decades of experience driving equity-centered leadership, organizational transformation, and sustainable philanthropic growth across healthcare, public health, and corporate sectors.
As Principal and CEO of The FirstLead, LLC, Ms. Streeter advises boards, CEOs, and C-suite executives on aligning governance, strategy, and operational execution to advance equity, strengthen institutional accountability, and accelerate philanthropic impact. She has guided hospitals, academic health systems, and nonprofits nationwide in creating comprehensive fund development plans, philanthropic governance frameworks, and community investment strategies that expand access to care and improve population health outcomes.
Previously, Ms. Streeter served as Vice President and Chief Governance Officer for the Harris Health System, where she led system-wide governance redesign, strategic planning alignment, and multi-million-dollar philanthropic initiatives. Her leadership advanced countywide access to care through the development of nine new community clinics and innovative partnerships to address social determinants of health.
Her earlier leadership includes executive roles with the Houston Texans Foundation, UTHealth McGovern Medical School, and MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she directed major fundraising campaigns, cultivated strategic partnerships, and elevated the public profile of mission-driven programs.
Ms. Streeter is recognized as a servant leader committed to advancing health equity, strategic philanthropy, and good governance. She currently serves as a Private Sector Representative to the Gulf Coast Workforce Board and as a Council Member on the Houston Community College President’s Council. Her past board leadership includes Board Director and Chair of Governance for the Greater Houston Black Chamber, Board Trustee and Governance Representative for the Texas Healthcare Trustees, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) of Greater Houston, and Girls Inc. of Greater Houston.
She holds a Master of Public Health in Management, Policy, and Community Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health where she was awarded the University of Texas Public Health Policy Fellowship, a Master of Arts in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University where she was awarded the Hearst Fellowship and Bentz Whaley-Flessner Fellowship, and Certificate of Nonprofit Executive Leadership from Indiana University. A Harvard-trained governance expert, Ms. Streeter has been recognized among the Top 30 Influential Women of Houston and featured in American Healthcare Leader Magazine for her transformative board governance practices.