Meet the Team

Nicole Oxendine is a full-time entrepreneur, educator, and activist dedicated to cultivating connections through dance. Drawing on her experience as a professional dancer as an alumna from Hollins University and her continued her studies obtaining a master’s degree from Columbia College in Chicago in Dance Movement Therapy, Oxendine has spent the last twenty-six years bringing access to quality dance instruction to public schools and nonprofits with the firm belief that movement empowers people and builds communities. 

In 2015, Oxendine founded Empower Dance Studio to provide accessible dance instruction focused on fostering confidence and personal growth in all students. Since its founding, the Studio has served hundreds of families in the Triangle Area of North Carolina and beyond, addressing a need for affordable, quality dance education that valued students of all abilities. 

After seeing a need to further inspire and empower children and their families outside of the studio, Oxendine took the initiative to expand her vision to create the Empower Circle to encourage, support, and ensure a safe space for populations who are generally overlooked, underrepresented, and misunderstood. The Empower Circle brand will introduce consulting services, a clothing line, book series, and more that the brand will announce soon. Additionally, the non-profit foundation is expanding underneath the Empower Circle brand to reach new populations by offering free tuition to those in need.

Christina Oxendine is a Business Intelligence Developer at Blue Cross Blue Sheild NC and brings her expertise to Empower as a consultant in business affairs and strategy. She has been instrumental in developing and scaling the vision of the Empower Circle. Currently, Christina is pursuing her MBA at Duke University's prestigious Fuqua School of Business. 

As a bilingual world traveler, Anna Fletcher has an extensive background in entrepreneurship, social media, and public relations. She is outgoing and enjoys empowering others, which is why she was naturally drawn to the vision enacted by longtime friend and now colleague Nicole Oxendine. Anna's warm heart and entrepreneurial spirit is welcomed at the Empower Circle, where she serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator.

Pam Oxendine is a community leader, skilled in both the art of etiquette and refinement, as well as marketing and business administration. Mrs. Oxendine's career has spanned from owning a modeling school to owning a cultural event center, A Cultured Alliance. Currently, as an etiquette instructor, Mrs. Oxendine trains, equips, and empowers youth and adults with proper etiquette and social skills via a proven curriculum. Professionally, Mrs. Oxendine has spent her corporate career developing marketing and communications program initiatives and logistics and is currently an administrator at N.C. School of Science and Math. She holds a BA in Business Administration from Shaw University and an MPA in Public Administration from North Carolina Central University. Mrs. Oxendine discovered her true passion for leadership in the community, having served on boards for the Durham Regional Financial Center as Chair, Durham Committee of the Affairs of Black People as Committee Vice Chair, and League of Women Voters as Chair. She is currently a board member of the Durham County Board of Elections. Among all her accolades, Mrs. Oxendine is most proud to be the mother of the Empower Circle Founder, Nicole Oxendine and all her children and grandchildren.

Jamie Oxendine is the buyer for the SHOP at Empower and also Costume and Stage manager as well.

Jamie assists us in the day-to-day operations as well maintenance of our client database for 100+ students, parents, and grandparents. She is the costume designer/manager, including but not limited to taking measurements and sizing for proper costume fit, ordering costumes for 100+ for dancers, and making customizations as needed. Jamie also serves as backstage manager for once-quarterly recital performances. Jamie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and she is currently working on a master's degree in pharmacy science. She is admired by our parents and grandparents, and anyone that interacts with her. She is excellent at making people feel welcomed and comfortable.

Alece has been a professional in the film industry for over twelve years, working in marketing, distribution, and strategy at various film festivals, distributors, and start-ups. Currently she is the Director of Industry and Festival Outreach at Columbia University's film program, where she is an esteemed alumna. Alece also graduated from Winston-Salem State University, where she received a Bachelor's in English and Communications.  Since the start of Empower, Alece has contributed her decades-long writing skills to the organization, communicating its vision via digital content writing and composing press releases and printed materials. She is also the author of the upcoming Emma Empower book series.  

Alece has lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and currently in New York City, but is proud to be from Durham, NC.