For many students at the Clinton School of Public Service, the leap from the classroom to a career is a gradual transition. For Nicole Hellthaler (‘19), it was a direct path from her master’s degree to the nonprofit she now leads.
Hellthaler serves as the Executive Director of the Prison Yoga Project, a global nonprofit that provides trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness to incarcerated individuals. Her journey from a high school teacher in El Dorado to the head of an international organization shows the power of applied public service education in action.
From Connecticut to El Dorado
A native of Connecticut, Hellthaler’s path to Arkansas began with Teach For America. After studying speech-language sciences at the University of Connecticut and spending a transformative semester abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, she felt a calling toward a new path.
“Most people don’t know that my study abroad trip to South Africa is the reason I do what I do,” she said. “That is what gave me the courage to take an ‘off-the-path’ career.”
Hellthaler was placed in El Dorado, Arkansas, where she taught history and politics for three years. It was during this period as a 21-year-old high school teacher that she leaned into her personal yoga practice to manage stress and realized that some of these techniques could also be applied in the classroom. She began implementing mindfulness techniques to help her students regulate their emotions, seeing firsthand how this led to better decision-making and fewer disciplinary issues. Seeking to deepen her impact, she looked toward the Clinton School once she completed her time in Teach for America.
The Clinton School Connection
Hellthaler is what she describes as the “poster child” for the Clinton School experience leading directly to a professional role in public service leadership. Her time as a student was defined by two major milestones that shaped her career: her International Public Service Project (IPSP) and her Capstone.
For her IPSP, she drew on the skills learned during her time in Teach for America and traveled to Tay Ninh, Vietnam, to work with Teach For Vietnam.
“I loved putting the skills I learned at the Clinton School and Teach For America into action,” she recalls. “I trained their teachers on how to provide classroom management in a trauma-informed way, helping them learn how to manage student behavior without yelling or removals.”
This focus on trauma-informed care led her to the Prison Yoga Project for her Capstone project. She developed a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation toolkit for the organization. This final deliverable was so impactful she was hired as the National Program Manager shortly after graduation. She rose through the ranks as Assistant Director before being named Executive Director in July 2024.
“I am able to set goals for my program, evaluate them, and disseminate that knowledge because of the foundation the Clinton School gave me,” she said. “Even if I didn’t have a prior deep dive into a subject, I was able to grow those skills in grant writing, program planning, and evaluation.”
The Prison Yoga Project
The Prison Yoga Project’s mission is to create a shift in how society addresses mental illness, substance use disorders, and crime. Their methodology is rooted in the science of the nervous system.
“People in these environments are often constantly in ‘fight or flight’ mode, which can lead to poor choices and/or addiction,” Hellthaler explained. “Yoga helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system. By practicing together, we can help them access a calm state that allows for logical thinking, better impulse control, better decision making, and empathy.”
Despite her leadership role, Hellthaler remains “on the ground,” teaching weekly yoga classes in local jails in Central Arkansas.
“I still get to be with the people we are serving,” she said. “I admire so many people who are incarcerated, and I feel privileged to offer a skill that helps them overcome the challenges they face.”
Looking Forward
Under Hellthaler’s leadership, the Prison Yoga Project is expanding its reach. The organization launched a graphic novel in 2025 titled “This Time I Choose,” which follows two teens through the legal system and introduces yoga as a tool for self-regulation. The book is currently being used at the Pulaski County Juvenile Center and is also popular with incarcerated adults.
As she looks to the future, Hellthaler remains focused on growth and increasing resources to reach more people globally. She would also like to expand philanthropy within Arkansas, which has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country.
When asked what public service means to her after years in the field, her philosophy is clear: “It means knowing your community, building relationships, and providing your specific skillset to better that community. It’s about understanding challenges as a whole and coming in as an equal, not as a savior.”