The Nicolas Jones Group exists because Nicolas needed the work before he could build it. What started as one person's story is now a youth development consulting firm reaching schools across the region.
Nicolas Jones grew up without his father. The abandonment marked everything that came next, the questions he didn't have language for, the weight that didn't show up on a transcript, the quiet conviction that something about him must not have been enough.
But he wasn't raised in absence. He was raised by four women who refused to let his story end the way it started: his mother, his grandmother, his aunt, and his God mom. They covered him with the kind of love that doesn't fix the past but reshapes the future you build out of it.
The R.I.S.E. framework was born out of the tools he wished someone had handed him at 14, 15, 16. Tools to recognize what he was feeling. Identify where it came from. Shift the meaning he was making of it. And elevate his story into purpose, instead of letting it bury him.
In August 2024, Nicolas founded The Nicolas Jones Group. The firm now serves schools and youth organizations with keynotes, workshops, and the signature R.I.S.E. Experience, equipping students grades 6–12 with the emotional intelligence, resilience, and purpose to rise above any circumstance.
He's 22. He's not speaking to students from a distance. He's just a few years ahead, close enough that they see themselves in him, credible enough that the data says the work lands.
The R.I.S.E. method is a proprietary, structured 4-pillar model, not improvised inspiration.
Every engagement includes pre/post measurement. Schools leave with an Impact Report, not just a memory.
Workshops reinforce the keynote. Educator PD reinforces the workshops. The work doesn't end at the assembly.
Nicolas is 22. Students see themselves in him before he ever opens his mouth.
A consulting firm built on lived experience, doctoral-level expertise, and proven institutional leadership.
Nicolas Jones is the founder and CEO of The Nicolas Jones Group, and the creator of the R.I.S.E. Experience framework. At 22, he leads a youth development consulting firm helping schools strengthen the emotional intelligence, resilience, and purpose of their students grades 6–12.
Raised by his mother, grandmother, aunt, and God mom after being abandoned by his father, Nicolas turned a story most kids carry in silence into a measurable model of transformation now being delivered in schools across the region. He holds a B.S. in Theology from Liberty University.
Dr. Jacynth Joyce is an educator, author, thought-leader, and consultant with over a decade of experience supporting K–12 schools in elevating educator capacity and well-being, strengthening instructional practice, and building equitable, thriving learning communities. She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration from Kean University, and brings a culturally responsive, systems-focused approach to professional learning, drawn from her experience as a classroom teacher, literacy coach, supervisor, and statewide professional development consultant.
At The Nicolas Jones Group, Dr. Joyce serves as the architect behind our programming, co-developing the curriculum and instructional design that shape the R.I.S.E. Experience, and leading every R.I.S.E. Educator Professional Development session and coaching engagement we deliver. Her work ensures that the framework doesn't just transform students in the room, it equips the adults who shape them long after we leave.
Her global perspective is shaped by her upbringing as a New York native born to Caribbean parents and her study-abroad experiences in the United Kingdom and across Europe. Her work is grounded in the belief that educators are the answer, and that transformation begins with empowered, well-supported teachers.
Dr. Xavier E. Edwards is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for The Nicolas Jones Group, an experienced leader specializing in strategic, transformational, and executive leadership, dedicated to authentic stakeholder engagement and data-driven results across city and state agencies, K–12, higher education, and community organizations.
He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer in the Chancellor's Office of Strategic Initiatives at NYC Public Schools, the largest school district in the country, directing multi-year strategic planning and leading high-priority initiatives on behalf of the Chancellor's office. He holds a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Executive Leadership and School District Leadership from St. John Fisher University, with research focused on 6–12 instructional design and increasing Black boys' self-efficacy.
At TNJG, Dr. Edwards leverages that institutional experience to open doors at the levels where systemic change actually happens, connecting Nicolas and the R.I.S.E. framework with the superintendents, principals, and district decision-makers who can scale the work.
Tell us about your school, your students, and what you're trying to move. We'll tell you what's possible.
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