Nicole Krakora
Nicole L. Krakora is a recognized leader in the events and protocol industries with more than three decades’ experience in both the private and public sectors. She is also a Certified Master Trainer®. Since 1988, Nicole has produced and/or advanced numerous events involving heads of state, world leaders, high-level U.S. and foreign dignitaries, diplomats, professional athletes, performing artists, Hollywood celebrities, explorers, scholars, and other VIP guests and honorees. Throughout her career, her contacts include the most senior levels of the White House, the Administration, the State Department and other Cabinet-level offices, Congress, the Supreme Court, the Secret Service, the diplomatic corps, foreign governments, and corporate leadership.
Nicole is an independent events and protocol strategist, providing consultation services and presenting educational seminars and briefings to Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, military, state and Federal agencies, government executives, and academia, among others. She also serves as a freelance event producer and project manager for high-level, logistically complex, national events.
Prior to founding her company in 2012, Nicole spent 17 years as a senior executive at the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex. She served as Director of Protocol and Senior Advisor for Events and Advance. From 1995 until 2011, she served as the Smithsonian’s Director of Special Events and Protocol; during which, she established the advance and protocol functions at the Institution and was appointed the first Chief of Protocol.
Nicole was educated at the University of Virginia. Trained and licensed by The Protocol School of Washington®, she provides individual and group instruction in International, Business, and Children’s Protocol and Etiquette; Protocol Officer Training; Dining Etiquette; and Taking Tea. Nicole earned her Cultural Competency Facilitator Certifications from Aperian Global in: GlobeSmart© Profile; GlobeSmart© Teaming Assessment; and Developing Global Leaders: GlobeSmart© Leadership Assessment. In 2014, she received her Certified Master Trainer® designation from The Association for Training and Development.
Nicole has served as a Senior Master Trainer for The Protocol School of Washington® since 2006. As a subject matter expert in international protocol, cultural competency, and global mobility, she is also a frequent speaker on the topics of international and diplomatic protocol, cultural diplomacy, and multi-cultural communication. She is an active member of Protocol and Diplomacy International – Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA). Whenever possible, Nicole can be found volunteering both within industry and within her community.
Ms. Krakora will present the learning lab: The Art of Official Gift Presentation: Trends and Techniques