As Chief Executive of the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust, Nicola's role spans iwi partnerships, environmental restoration, cultural strategy, and community engagement. Nicola’s drive to tackle issues head on attracts people to join her in combating threats to te taiao (the environment), particularly her leadership in facing the invasion of the exotic caulerpa seaweed where she enlisted experts from California to help address this issue.

A dedicated conservationist, Nicola also led the deployment of the world’s largest shellfish bed restoration (150 tonnes of mussels) in The Hauraki Gulf, has participated in and planted over over 350,000 trees in the Mahurangi to combat the impacts of climate change, established the Trust’s dedicated marine team, and is a co-researcher on mātauranga Māori methods to use natural fibres replacing plastic ropes used for mussel spat.
 

Nicola is also Co-Chair of the Hauraki Gulf Forum, the statutory body responsible for promoting the conservation and management of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park - New Zealand's first and largest Marine Park. In ​2024, Nicola was named the New Zealand Environmental Hero of the Year, and in 2025 was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the environment.​​​

Grounded in te ao Māori, Nicola’s leadership upholds the Trust’s values while helping to shape outcomes that restore ecosystems and protect taonga for generations to come, consistently demonstrating her dedication to tangata whenua (indigenous people) and maintaining the balance between our cultural heritage and the natural world.