Nikola is a professor of leadership, a leadership development professional, a social entrepreneur, and an activist. His activism began at age 15 when he joined the Serbian anti-dictatorship movement. In 2009, he co-founded “Serbia on the Move,” a pro-democracy social movement, and has led numerous grassroots campaigns focusing on anti-corruption, health justice, civil rights, and democratization. He now serves as a strategy and movement-building advisor to several social movements worldwide (Kreni-Promeni, Volt Europa, World Liberty Congress).

In 2020, he founded ChangeLab Global to democratize access to leadership and social change tools, regardless of socioeconomic status. He leads leadership development programs with UNICEF, the Obama Foundation, and the US Government while supporting pro-democracy activists worldwide in building and scaling their movements.

As an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Nikola teaches Ethical Leadership and Democratic Leadership. His teaching approach emphasizes learning by doing and action-learning, anchored in the framework he created “Democratic Leadership Framework”.

His current work focuses on developing an interactive online leadership learning platform, producing the fast-growing Pulse of Change newsletter about leadership, fundraising for research about democratic leadership, and supporting organizations with their leadership programs and fellowships.

He holds a master's degree from Harvard University and a leadership coaching certificate from Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and two daughters.

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