EMERYVILLE, CA, April 23, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Nichole Pettway has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Dr. Pettway currently serves as the deputy director at the Wellness Empowerment Resiliency Campus, a division of Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency in East Oakland, California, a role she has held since 2025. In this capacity, she manages the Wellness Empowerment Resiliency Campus at Eastmont Mall, overseeing a comprehensive job readiness program designed to support individuals re-entering the workforce, regardless of their employment history or personal challenges. Participants in her program receive stipends and on-the-job training, with Dr. Pettway and her team assisting them in securing employment and subsequently helping them obtain housing by covering moving costs and providing two months of rent to ensure stability and independence. She also manages the organization's pre-trial program, which operates under a $12 million contract with the Alameda County's Probation Department. Her leadership extends to supervising a team of eight case managers, two supervisors and two intake coordinators, collaborating with community-based organizations to eliminate barriers for individuals released on pretrial status.

From 2022 to 2025, Dr. Pettway was a program manager-coordinator III in the Social Medicine Department at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. There, she coordinated initiatives aimed at addressing social determinants of health for vulnerable populations. During the preceding year, she served as a 2917 program analyst for the City and County of San Francisco, where she contributed to policy analysis and program development supporting public health objectives.

Dr. Pettway's earlier experience includes serving as a health worker III at the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing for one year and as a lead outreach coordinator at Heluna Health for two years. Between 2018 and 2019, she worked as a family-parenting coordinator and facilitator at Community Works West, supporting families impacted by incarceration through parenting education and advocacy. As program manager at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice-Cameo House from 2015 to 2017, she managed residential programs for women involved in the justice system.

Dr. Pettway's tenure as a senior residential counselor at Jelani House Inc. from 2011 to 2016 involved providing counseling and support services for women in recovery. Concurrently, from 2012 to 2015, she was a case manager at Leaders in Community Alternatives Inc., assisting clients with reentry planning and community integration. In 2012, she held several roles, such as detox assistant at Horizon Services Inc./Palm Ave Detox, case manager at HealthRIGHT360 and temporary administrative assistant with the San Francisco Sheriff Department-Five Keys Charter School. She began her career as an instructor for Project Survive from 2009 to 2012, educating students on violence prevention and healthy relationships.

Dr. Pettway is also the founder of the Building Bridges Foundation, which develops evidence-based curricula—including her signature Building Bridges program—to support individuals exiting prison. Through this foundation, she delivers programs like Thinking for a Change (for which she is a certified facilitator and Train the Trainer), Seeking Safety, Anger management and relapse prevention. Her expertise is sought after globally as she has presented as a speaker internationally and is scheduled to speak on a Norwegian cruise with the Leadership Experience Tour.

Dr. Pettway's academic journey began after overcoming significant personal adversity. Following years marked by incarceration and addiction—during which she lost custody of her children—she achieved sobriety in 1993 through participation in recovery programs that provided foundational insights into addiction despite limited formal education at that time. After relapsing in 2003 and being released again in 2009, she regained custody of her children and rebuilt her life by securing stable housing and employment before facing another period of incarceration within three years.

Determined to prioritize education upon regaining custody of her children, Dr. Pettway enrolled at City College of San Francisco within ninety days of achieving sobriety. She earned an associate's degree in women's studies and alcohol and drug studies with additional coursework in HIV/STI case management and group facilitation in San Francisco in 2013. She continued her academic pursuits by obtaining a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Phoenix in Phoenix in 2015.

Dr. Pettway furthered her expertise with a master's degree in community mental health from California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco in 2021 before earning a Doctor of Arts in humanities and humanistic studies from Trinity International University of Ambassadors in Duluth, Georgia in 2024. Additionally, she has maintained membership in the California Association for Alcohol and Drug Educators since 2009.

Dr. Pettway holds numerous professional credentials, most recently earning a WL-WH Congress certificate from IDIAS Global Conferences in 2025. Her certifications also include addiction treatment counseling through the California Association for Alcohol and Drug Educators and a Thinking for a Change train-the-trainer certification from the National Institute of Corrections. In addition, she holds CPR certifications and has completed coursework in understanding and preventing sexual harassment through Summit Training. In addition to her credentials, she attributes her success to an attitude of gratitude—recognizing each opportunity as meaningful—and strives daily to embody the ethos "Be the change that you want to see in the world."

Dr. Pettway has received a wide range of honors recognizing her impact as a leader and advocate for change. Among these distinctions are the In the Trenches Change Agent Award and multiple certificates of excellence from leaders in community alternatives and probation services, reflecting her influence within reentry and rehabilitation programs. Her work has also earned national and international recognition, including the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award and the United Nations World Peace Pioneer Award, underscoring the breadth of her contributions to both community service and global impact.

As an author, Dr. Pettway shares her personal journey of resilience in "Against All Odds: A Triumphant Journey from Addiction and Incarceration," a work widely available in print and digital formats. She has also collaborated on several additional publications focused on leadership, empowerment and personal growth, including titles such as "Moguls Unleashed: Secrets of Business Brilliance and United Women of Influence Reinvented to Rise." Through her writing, she extends her mission of inspiration and transformation to a broader audience.

Among her most significant personal accomplishments is regaining custody of her disabled daughter Michelle after decades apart—an experience that tested her resolve during challenging meetings with Golden Gate Regional Services but ultimately affirmed her commitment as Michelle's primary caregiver when her grandmother could no longer care for Michelle or rely on outside support.

Dr. Pettway is a mother to five children and grandmother to eleven grandchildren. In addition to spending cherished time with her grandchildren, she was civically involved with County Jail #2 B-POD through the San Francisco Sheriff Department from 2011 to 2012, as well as ongoing leadership through Building Bridges Foundation.

In the upcoming years, Dr. Pettway envisions expanding Building Bridges Foundation's support for reentry populations by introducing new initiatives such as transitional housing modeled after sober living environments—demonstrating that life after prison or addiction offers renewed hope and limitless possibilities for returning citizens

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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. The suite of Marquis® publications, including Who's Who in America® and Who's Who in the World®, remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the globe. Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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