Nicole Hylton-Patterson

AGE: 45

FAMILY: Mom, Lurlene Hylton; Father, Earl Hylton; Sisters, Michelle, 53, and Andrea, 52

CAREER: Executive Director, Adirondack Diversity Initiative

SPORTS: Running, Horseback Riding

By Linda Waxman Finkle

On A Mission to Change a Mindset

What do you do when you come from an impoverished family on a small island, but you have big dreams? You quickly discern how to make those dreams a reality, and remain steadfastly focused on that.

From a young age, Nicole (Nicky) Hylton-Patterson knew that her intelligence set her apart, and would be the mechanism for achieving her goals. She tested into Ardenne, an elite high school in Jamaica, where there was an opportunity to travel abroad and live in Norway for several years of school. Although funds weren’t available for her to go, but were there for the non-black elite Jamaican students in the school, her determination and father’s admonition to “Line up your thoughts with what you want to happen,” drove her to the Prime Minister’s Office. Once there, she made her case, impressed the adults in the room, and miraculously, within a few days was on her way. Since then, she hasn’t let anything stop her.

When Nicky goes running here in her new home in the Adirondacks, it’s restorative and she feels privileged. “People say I’m always smiling. But to me running in the Adirondacks is like meditating, it brings me such joy. How could I not smile?” 

Growing up in Jamaica, running was part of her life from the start. “On this tiny island we’re all runners, and as soon as we’re potty-trained, we’re assigned to a sports house named after a track and field star.” Nicky excelled at long distance running and long jump, but like many there, her family had few resources, as did the area itself. “The track field and sand pit were both just dirt, and many of us ran barefoot. Usain Bolt, considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time, ran barefoot on our country roads. He had an inherent talent.” 

Her second sport was soccer, although there were no women playing in Jamaica at the time. She’s still a big fan of Liverpool, and grudgingly, Manchester United because they heavily recruit Jamaican players. With a Rastafarian father who preached against elitism and classism, reminding her and her two sisters to not let anyone tell them what they couldn’t do, she was thrilled to find that in Norway the girls’ soccer teams were unbound by gender stereotypes. 

What was most important in going so far away to Norway was the knowledge that it would open the gate for others like her – black, female and poor – to experience a very different life as well. And, while she was the only person of color in that small Norwegian town (with a much colder climate than she was used to), her biggest adjustment was getting used to the midnight sun. With a wonderful host family and an extremely supportive community and network of friends, she survived by being very active while adding volleyball and singing in the choir, to hours of soccer practice and school studies.

She went home to take her college entrance exams, experienced homophobia, and came to the U.S. for degrees in African and African American Studies and Philosophy (B.A., Mount Holyoke), Industrial and Organizational Psychology with a focus on workplace diversity (M.A., Chicago School of Professional Psychology), Pan African Studies, looking at black queer liberation and livability (M.A., Syracuse), and Women and Gender Studies (Ph.D., Arizona State). Armed with a formidable education, she worked at the U.S. Embassy, at the YWCA/Chemung County Human Relations Commission, and at Manhattanville College, in positions that ranged from Racial Justice/Diversity Officer to Acting Director of the Center for Religion and Social Justice. 

In 2019, she was hired as the Adirondack Diversity Initiative’s first Executive Director, which according to its mission statement, works to “…make the Adirondacks a more welcoming and inclusive place for both visitors and residents while ensuring a vital and sustainable Adirondack Park for future generations.” It’s hard to imagine someone better suited for this role.

In the U.S., Nicky started running again, and also discovered an enduring passion for horseback riding. While she loved NYC, she’s always been drawn to mountains and hills, for their beauty, their solitude, and for the challenges they present, just like in Norway. Nicky has run 5K races and one 10K, and looks forward to more events this summer and fall. She enjoys morning runs on roads and trails, but doesn’t care about time. When it’s really cold, she visits the gym first to workout before her outdoor run. In the Adirondacks, she’s been doing CrossFit, and cross-country skiing, which she learned in Norway. She also looks forward to trying snowshoe running.

Her move to the Adirondacks has come with its own challenges, including an ugly incident of racist graffiti, spray-painted on a bridge that she often ran by in the village of Saranac Lake. Others might have walked away completely, but Nicky simply moved out of the village, even more determined to do the work needed, seeing the episode as a clarion call. “I’m asking people to be vulnerable, to talk about difficult subjects, thoughts, and feelings, and to being okay with sitting in a different space. That’s uncomfortable.” And in a 12-county region, where an average of 92% of the one million who live here are white, it’s just plain difficult.

Mirroring programs around the country, Nicky’s recently started the Community Policing and Cultural Competency Initiative, that will help police agencies meet the diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements of NY Executive Order 203. She’s also started the North Country Black Woman’s Coalition, with 15 members, who among other things enjoy outdoor recreation. Nicky added, “Our next outing will be ice fishing and cross-country skiing.”

Nicky’s also piloting a new program with SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, to both introduce K-12 students from New York City to the Adirondacks, and to have them learn about outdoor and environmental career opportunities here, such as NYS DEC Forest Rangers. These Young Adirondack Stewards will stay at Eagle Island Camp, Camp Treetops, SUNY ESF, Paul Smith’s College and Great Camp Sagamore, showing them places that they would probably never see, helping them to think beyond city limits, and forging a bond with the region, that hopefully one day draws them back, not just for its natural beauty, but for jobs, a way of life, and ultimately its warm, friendly and welcoming communities.

A clear sign of Nicky’s success is that ADI’s innovative programs are now sought out by many, at the same time that New York State is facing a budget shortfall. “We need more staffing and money to run our various programs, and we need an endowment,” she says. She credits the Adirondack Experience, the Museum on Blue Mountain Lake with continuing support for ADI’s work, and hopes to start a chapter of the Poor People’s Campaign in the future. Her personal wish list includes finding an instructor who will help her to improve her equestrian skills, and continuing her running, sometimes in the less than hospitable weather of the Adirondack’s winter season. “At this stage, it’s more about mental health and focus, and continuing to do what I love as I get older.” She’s also encouraging her family in the Bronx to move to the Adirondacks.

As it says in her ADI bio, Nicky Hylton-Patterson has spent her life seeking “…to dismantle systemic racism and cultural oppression.” And, whether in Jamaica, Norway, NYC, or now in the Adirondacks, she meets the task head on, unafraid to take risks, and more than willing to do the painstaking work to make real and lasting change. “I grew up with a clear idea of equity and justice,” she offers. We are lucky that such a brave and talented champion now calls this majestic park home.

Linda Waxman Finkle (lwf518@gmail.com) of Albany is a writer, kayaking instructor, and event coordinator. She also enjoys hiking and cycling, and learning something new each day.