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Person · officer / director

Nicole Neily

President Secretary · Parents Defending Education

President Secretary at Parents Defending Education. Listed as an officer, director, or key employee across 2 organizations on the Form 990 record.

This is me
Ambiguous identity This name matches 2 other individuals we could not verify as the same person. Each is kept as a separate record below — treat them as distinct people unless an explicit match is confirmed.
Organizations
2
Roles reported
2
Reported compensation
$390K
Others who share this name
2

Who this is

Profile

Everything on the left is verified from the IRS filings. The biography on the right is compiled from public web sources and grounded to that filed record.

✓ Verified from filings
●
Reported as President Secretary of Parents Defending Education, based in Arlington, VA.
●
Received $390K in total reported compensation on the most recent Form 990 (Part VII).
●
Also listed as Executive Director of Pde Action, uncompensated.
Facts extracted directly from each organization's Form 990, Part VII.
Biography Web-sourced

Nicole Neily is the founder and president of Speech First Inc., an organization dedicated to defending students' First Amendment rights on college campuses, a role she has held since founding the organization in 2018. She also served as Chairman and Director for Speech First from 2020-2024, with a reported compensation of $182,300.

Prior to establishing Speech First, Neily held significant positions in public policy advocacy, including president of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity and executive director and senior fellow at the Independent Women's Forum. She also founded Defending Education, a national membership organization focused on advocating for children's education and combating discrimination.

Neily is recognized for her work in successfully litigating against universities to disband "Bias Response Teams" and for her broader efforts in promoting free speech.

Compiled from public web sources (6 cited), grounded to the filed record.

Track record

Career & tenure

Real tenure, career, and education — from public web sources, what you need to vet a founder or leader beyond the filing window.

Tenure here
2018-Present (Speech First founder); 2020-2024 (reported on 990)
Education
  • Bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois
  • Master's degree in public policy from Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy

Affiliations

Organizations

Linked as the same person by IRS Schedule R, a shared officer mailing address, or shared fellow board members.

Parents Defending Education President Secretary · $6.6M revenue · Arlington, VANational grassroots organization working to reclaim our schools from activists promoting harmful agendas. Through network and coalition building…pay $192K → $390KFiled FY2025, FY2024, FY2023 · Source: Form 990, Part VII
$390Kreported comp
Pde Action Executive Director · $146K revenue · Arlington, VAPDE ACTION GIVES ELECTED OFFICIALS A POLICY REFORM AGENDA THEY CAN VOTE ON AS WELL AS SUPPORT IN STATE LEGISLATURES AND GOVERNORS' OFFICES.pay $7K → $9KFiled FY2025, FY2024, FY2023, FY2022 · Source: Form 990, Part VII

Disambiguation

Other people named Nicole Neily

Different individuals who share this name, separated by IRS Schedule R, mailing address, and shared-board evidence. The 990 carries no person identifier, so some may still be the same person.

N
Nicole Neily 1 organization · Washington, DCSpeech First INC
N
Nicole Neily 1 organization · Springfield, VA1776 Project Foundation

Network

Serves alongside

Other officers, directors & key employees at this person's organizations, by latest reported compensation.

M
Senior Advisor · FY2024
$198K
C
Vice President · FY2024
$185K
S
VP and Legal Fellow · FY2025
$175K
M
Director of Advocacy · FY2025
$154K
P
Sr Dir of Strategic · FY2025
$153K
E
Sr Dir Communication · FY2025
$150K
A
Director Development · FY2025
$145K
A
VP for Strat · FY2021
$109K
A
Investigative Fellow · FY2023
$105K
P
Cfocoo · FY2025
$37K
K
Treasurer · FY2025
K
Trustee · FY2025

Network

Recommendations

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Similar organizations

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Public data from IRS Form 990 e-file & the Business Master File. Individuals appear here because they were named as an officer, director, or key employee on a nonprofit's Form 990; people are grouped by name plus corroborating evidence (Schedule R, shared address, shared board members). · philanthropy.org