Nichols Planning & Development has a core company ethos to provide clients with superior attention to detail and clear communication. 

 

We are mission-driven and are eager to take on community-benefit projects such as affordable housing, homelessness prevention strategies, and sustainable development.

​

Experience

Owner Lauren Nichols is a Ventura-County native, and was raised in a family of general contractors and material suppliers. Nichols brings over ten years of experience working across the state of California on an array of development projects, from private client accessory dwelling units (ADUs), to multifamily affordable housing developments, financed with federal tax credits and/or State bond dollars.

 

Nichols began her career as a planner with a local civil engineering firm working on watershed management projects and processing FEMA floodplain applications. From there, Nichols entered the affordable housing sector working with Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation, and later worked as a Senior Project Manager with Peoples' Self-Help Housing. She approaches each project with a sense of enthusiasm and optimism, and works to inspire the team to realize shared goals. 

​

Community

Nichols lives in Ojai, CA with her family, and enjoys hiking, studying about plant medicines, and traveling in her spare time. She is a member of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, and the Ojai Women's Fund.

​

Education

A graduate of Tufts University,  Nichols earned a Master of Arts in Urban Environmental Policy & Planning (UEP), and a graduate certificate in Water: Systems, Science, and Society (WSSS).  She enjoys studying effective communication techniques, and has taken numerous courses in Project Management, and Affordable Housing Finance.