“She's a strong cup of coffee.”
Zoe Nicholson has been standing in front of a room and in the public square with one message, WAKE UP. And with each day, each event, each year, waking up to something new has led to a dynamic life that unfolded sharply, quickly, deeply. She is not one to “suffer fools,” but that impatience is wielded at herself far more than anyone else. If she has one gift that outshines all others it is the ability to collect information, consolidate and articulate it in a whole new way. She is intense, inspiring and a true change maker.
From a distance it could appear that her life is a wild ride but below the surface it is clear, Zoe Nicholson has never take her eyes off of her goal; liberation and equality. Collecting experiences in church reform, feminism, civil rights, LGBTQ and Peace Movements, Zoe has funneled it all into a refined understanding of intersectionality. Early professional computer training set her on a solid path for using social media at the start.
Activist, author and speaker, Zoe Nicholson holds a B.A. in Theology, Quincy University, 1969 and a M.A. in Ethics, USC, 1975. She began her professional life teaching high school for five years. In 1976, she opened and operated The Magic Speller Bookstore, a women’s bookstore in Newport Beach, CA. In 1982, she joined six women in Springfield, Illinois., in a public and political fast for 37 days in support of the Equal Rights Amendment. Her memoir is The Hungry Heart ~ A Women's Fast for Justice, from Lune Soleil Press. Zoe finished a new full life, The Engaged Heart. It contains many of her speeches and 125 personal photos.
With the close of her independent bookstore, she served for a year as Director of the Orange County Free Clinic. In 1985, she completed the professional computer program at Computer Learning Center and worked in hi tech, software development and recruiting for fifteen years.
Zoe is the founder of ERA Once and for All, member of the National ERA Roundtable, lifelong member of NOW and president of Pacific Shore NOW, and outspoken voice for LGBTQ rights. Featured in the films, March On and An American Housewife (in production) Her heroes are Gandhi, Alice Paul and the activists she has met along the way. Her activism is radical and effective having been a champion of ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and establishing Marriage Equality. All and all, she is devoted to the Equal Rights Amendment. Her story and commentary are featured in the 2022 documentary, Still Working 9 to 5.March 2013.
On any given day you can hear her, “I have identified as straight, gay, and bi on the way to solid lesbian; I have had two abortions and fasted for the ERA. I hang out at the intersection of feminism and equality. For me, there is no place else to be.”