Nicole Presley leads student mental health and resilience work at UCLA

Nicole Presley is UCLA's senior executive director of student resilience and mental health services, overseeing CAPS, RISE and CARE while co-chairing Campus Community Conversations. She helped launch the CORE mobile crisis unit in October 2025 and is involved with the suicide prevention initiative 'Hope Connects Us.'

Nicole Presley has long ties to UCLA and a background in psychology and education. She earned her bachelor's from UCLA, a master's from Harvard focused on risk and resilience, and a doctorate in counseling psychology from USC. She began at UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) as an intern in 2004, later created the Campus Assault & Resources Program (CARE) in 2010 and helped develop the Resilience In Your Student Experience Center (RISE). She now serves as senior executive director of student resilience and mental health services and co-chairs Campus Community Conversations. Key points: - Presley oversees CAPS, RISE and CARE, which sit under UCLA Student Affairs. - She manages the campus mental health crisis response team and co-chairs UCLA Connects with David Myers. - The Compassionate Response Team (CORE) mobile crisis unit launched in October 2025, with clinicians collaborating with UCPD during on-campus crises. - UCLA has reported losing a number of students to mental health crises over the past 18 months and is addressing rising loneliness and isolation among students. - Presley helped create healing spaces at RISE and organized Campus Community Conversations to bring dialogue and connection across campus. - UCLA is launching a suicide prevention initiative called "Hope Connects Us," emphasizing hope and awareness of available resources. Summary: UCLA is expanding prevention, crisis response and campus dialogue to address recent concerns about student wellbeing. Presley and her teams are monitoring campus conversations and rolling out programs such as CORE and the "Hope Connects Us" initiative to strengthen the campus mental health ecosystem and build connections across the community.