![Nicolina Kozak Headshot](https://socialfinance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Nicolina-Kozak-333x500.jpg")
(She, her, hers)
Associate Director, Public Sector Practice
2021
Nicolina Connor is an Associate Director, Public Sector Practice at Social Finance supporting initiatives that address complex societal challenges, particularly focusing on homelessness, healthcare accessibility, reentry, and improving outcomes for children and families.
Prior joining the firm, Nicolina worked in the homeless response system in Austin, Texas at ECHO. There, she developed and lead an innovative Housing for Health team that worked on various activities aimed at improving the lives of people cycling through homeless, healthcare, and reentry systems. Nicolina’s tenure at ECHO was marked by her ability to forge strong partnerships spanning multiple sectors. By bringing together a diverse array of stakeholders, she facilitated projects that implemented cost-effective strategies, reduced disparities, and enhanced the accessibility of housing and healthcare services.
Prior to her work at ECHO, Nicolina provided direct services to people in need across a diverse range of populations within both social services and clinical settings.
Her experience as a social worker in both clinical and social services settings has fortified Nicolina’s understanding of the nuanced challenges within the public sector and informs her strategic approach to her work.
Nicolina has her master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from St. Ambrose University.
![Exterior view of a modern apartment building with orange and dark brick walls, balconies with railings, and several visible potted plants.](https://socialfinance.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/pexels-eye4dtail-129494-1000x711.jpg")
Homelessness touches every community, urban, suburban, and rural. And most communities already know what solutions the evidence suggests. Housing First, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing: the research is not the bottleneck. The bottleneck is whether…
