Rodney K. Nickens Jr.

Rodney K. Nickens Jr. is a community organizer, activist, consultant, policy manager, motivational speaker, and an advocate for social, racial and economic justice, LGBTQ equality, and civil and human rights for all. A native of Portsmouth, VA, Rodney serves as the Regional Policy Manager at the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California. He currently sits on the Housing Methodology Committee at the Association of Bay Area Governments, where he advises regional leaders on the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process regulated by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Rodney is also the Founder and Principal Consultant of R&N Strategies, LLC a political consulting firm that advises political clients and non-profits. Rodney most recently advised a national judiciary reform campaign, a state legislative and gubernatorial campaign, and a State Legislative Caucus. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the California Young Democrats Black Caucus, the Board of Directors for the Black Young Democrats of Sacramento, and the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club.

In 2016, Rodney served as the Youth Grand Marshal at the Oakland Pride Parade and Festival and was presented with the Emerging Leader Award by the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club, the California Assembly and the Mayor of Oakland. A passionate civil rights activist and advocate for racial justice and LGBTQ equality, Rodney's scholarly interests are focused in the areas of public interest and civil rights law, critical race theory, housing, employment and labor law, and sexuality and the law. He is outspoken on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, access and affordability of higher education, the importance of clinical legal education, civil and criminal justice reform, and the need for greater access to high-quality pro bono legal services for the indigent.

Rodney is a 2016 graduate of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he earned a Juris Doctorate with a concentration in Social Justice Lawyering. Rodney also earned an MA in African-American Studies from UCLA and a BA in History from UC Merced. While at Hastings, he served as the Co-Editor in Chief of the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal and on the Executive Board of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at UC Hastings.

You can follow Rodney on Twitter & Instagram @RodneyKendell1.