Uka (oo kah) - Japanese for emergence, to grow wings and fly

Uka consulting - your partner in ideation and transformation​

Uka consulting offers coaching, training and facilitation through a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging lens. Uka helps organizations and individuals deepen their reflective practices and achieve their goals.

All services are available in Spanish and English.

Uka Consulting Services

Educational Consulting

  • Program Evaluation
  • Curriculum Review
  • Culturally Responsive Teaching
  • Educator and School Leader Coaching

Nicole is well-versed in qualitative research and has experience designing and running interviews, focus groups and surveys. Additionally, she has experience analyzing data and writing reports and recommendations. 

With over a decade of experience in preparing CLDE teachers, Nicole’s educational consulting ranges from individualized 1:1 coaching to systems-wide analysis.

Diversity, Equity, and Belonging

  • Whiteness
  • White allyship
  • Cultural Humility
  • Inclusivity in the workplace
  • Implicit bias & microaggressions

As a white woman, Nicole sees her role in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging work as primarily supporting white identifying people to further their growth. Belonging work is a never-ending journey and we need to lean in with humility and determination. While changing systems and policies is important, achieving lasting change also requires reflection and considering new ideas and beliefs.

Early Childhood

  • Transformational Coaching
  • Bilingualism and Bilingual Learners
  • Circle of Security Parenting Training
  • CLASS Pre-K-3 observation and coaching
  • Pre-Licensing Trainer

For the last 20 years, Nicole has worked in Colorado providing Spanish/English bilingual training to childcare providers and early childhood leaders. Her dissertation focused on bilingual Head Start settings. 

Nicole’s workshop topics include:

  • Health, Safety and Nutrition
  • Preventing and Reporting Child Abuse and neglect
  • Child Guidance
  • Bilingual language development
  • Social-Emotional Learning 

About Uka Consulting's Founder, Nicole Sager PhD.

Nicole has decades of experience as an educator, facilitator, trainer and teacher educator both in the U.S. and overseas. Growing up in South America and Mexico as a young child and working in Japan and Brazil as an adult, Nicole speaks Spanish, Japanese and Portuguese. Living in and adapting to different cultures gave her an appreciation for multiple perspectives and diverse ways of being. 

Nicole’s PhD in Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity led her to prepare future educators at the University of Colorado, Denver and Boulder to teach Culturally Linguistically Diverse learners. Her research experience includes program evaluation, bilingualism, and teaching practices. Her Master’s degree is in Teaching English as Second Language and Spanish. Nicole earned a certificate in Diversity Equity and Inclusion from Cornell University, which deepened her understanding of Leadership and Organizational Development.

What People Are Saying

"I’ve had the privilege to present with Dr. Nicole Sager and recently asked her to present at one of BUENO’s conferences. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in multilingualism, diversity, equity and inclusion and culturally and linguistically diverse education. Her presentation style is understandable and engaging and her passion is evident with every presentation/workshop she delivers. You will leave the session/workshop feeling empowered and inspired to implement the learning in your own classroom/setting. Dr. Nicole Sager is a truly gifted educator and I highly recommend her services to anyone!"
Dr. Tania Hogan
Executive Director, The BUENO Center, University of Colorado, Boulder
"With years of experience designing, implementing and evaluating innovative educational programs, coupled with superb training in qualitative and ethnographic research methods, Dr. Nicole Sager is highly qualified to evaluate any form of educational practice, especially those devoted to young and multilingual children. She not only adeptly interprets the results of an innovation or intervention but also knows how to determine what occured in the implementation that might have affected those results – positively or negatively. The latter requires experience in the subtleties of qualitative research, as well as longer term observation of processes. Dr. Sager does superlative work in all stages of such evaluation."
Dr. Margaret LeCompte
Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado Boulder

“Conozco a Nicole por 12 años y hemos estado juntas en nuestra formación como educadoras en Educación Temprana. Ha sido una experiencia increíble dar clases con Nicole para las proveedoras de cuidados de niños. Es una persona sensible, con muchos conocimientos y dedicada a su pasión que son los niños.”

"I have known Nicole for 12 years and we have been together in our development as Early Childhood Educators. It has been an incredible experience co-teaching childcare providers with Nicole. She is a caring person with a lot of knowledge and is dedicated to her passion for children."
Patricia Matus Amat
Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education, Community College of Denver
"Nicole brings an insightful, relentlessly curious approach to all that she does, whether that's leading interviews and focus groups, analyzing qualitative data, or facilitating training sessions. Issues related to identity, belonging, oppression, and equity are inherently complex and emotional, and Nicole enters and navigates these conversations with both care and a sharp focus on addressing root issues like racism and white supremacy culture. In this way, Nicole seamlessly holds onto the importance of the little details and the big picture, and this helps people uncover new ways of seeing and improving their practices and workplace cultures."
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Sean Kenney
Consultant and Co-Founder of Project Deviate

What Makes Uka Consulting Unique

In her work, Nicole puts relationships first and leads with the heart. She takes the time to get to know her clients and their contexts to individualize coaching and facilitation content and experiences.

She relishes the opportunity to be a think partner with individuals, schools and organizations to help them discover and achieve their goals.

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