Nicole L. Urban, MBA, is a celebrated project management professional (PMP) and consultant possessing a strong educational foundation with a Master of Business Administration in entrepreneurship from Rasmussen University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from DeVry University. Bringing extensive career experience, today, Ms. Urban is the owner and director of operations of Onix Consulting Partners LLC, established in 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ms. Urban was a lead business analyst at Kiewit in Lenexa, Kansas, from 2020 to 2022. Previously, she was a business analyst at Kansas City Power and Light, where she held multiple key positions from 2006 to 2019, including as a project management office (known as PMO) business analyst as well as a senior warranty analyst, category management analyst, and contract administrator. Ms. Urban also worked as a construction and engineering administrator at SBC Communications, formerly Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., from 1997 to 2005.
Among the litany of notable accomplishments throughout her career, Ms. Urban is personally proud to have spoken, by invitation, at the Women of Color event for the annual leadership conference last held at the University of Missouri—Kansas City. As the recipient of multiple leadership awards, she is also an active member of professional organizations, including, but not limited to, the Project Management Institute, Toastmasters International, the Scrum Alliance, and Professional Women of Color KC. Further, Ms. Urban serves as an agility coach for The DeBruce Foundation and holds both the project management professional certification and the Certified Scrum Product Owner® credential.
Ms. Urban is dedicated to civic engagement and has contributed significantly to her community. Since 2017, she has volunteered with Harvesters, the Community Food Network. Moreover, she serves as a campaign coordinator for the United Way of Greater Kansas City and is a donation sorter for the Rose Brooks Center Inc. She considers her most notable feat to be her work with WeCode KC, a nonprofit organization that teaches computer programming to children. Despite having no prior experience in the area, Ms. Urban believed in the mission and helped grow the organization to a $1.5 million nonprofit.
Ms. Urban advises aspiring professionals in her industry to take the leap even when the whole picture is not yet clear. She emphasizes that success comes from perseverance, collaboration, and supporting others. She believes that her achievements, in large measure, are the result of her strong network of colleagues who understand and recommend her work, as her connections have afforded her multiple high-profile opportunities such as working on energy projects in Puerto Rico and Tampa. Her journey underscores the importance of believing in one’s contributions and the impact of taking the crucial first step. In her free time, Ms. Urban enjoys spending time with her family and traveling with her husband as well as reading and teaching.