Early Life

Nikka calls herself a “Wississippian”—a Mississippi-born child raised in the Midwest city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a result, she spent her summers “down South” in her small hometown of Cleveland, Mississippi, surrounded by cousins, aunties, her father, and grandmother. In a town with fewer than 10,000 residents, any mischief was typically reported back to her folx before she even made it home—making for some interesting summers.
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Nikka describes herself as her ancestors’ wildest dreams and humbly honors those whose shoulders she stands upon. She draws strength and inspiration from three primary sources: her maternal grandfather, her mother, and her Sun.

Grandfather

“My grandfather, Will Lee Lemons, born in 1892, was a WWI veteran who returned home to become a small businessman. He wholeheartedly believed in our nation’s promise of racial justice and equal access to the American Dream—so he served.

Unfortunately, upon his return, he was seen as 'getting out of place,' and the wounds inflicted by white supremacy ultimately claimed his life.

Nevertheless, his spirit of service, innovation, and optimism live on in me, passed down through my mother.”

Mother

“My mom, Mary Lemons, is a gentle giant who radiates kindness and embodies quiet strength. She tried to pass down her calm nature to my rebellious warrior spirit. Eventually, we called a truce, and she loves me unconditionally anyway.

I am honored to be her daughter.

She was an illiterate sharecropper who migrated north to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hoping to give her children access to the American Dream. Unfortunately, her income only allowed us to live in some of the city’s most distressed communities. Yet, her optimism and joy never wavered. I owe her the realization of her prayers and steadfast belief in something greater.”

Asa

“Asa, my Sun, is the saving grace and deepest inspiration of my life. The oncologist said he couldn’t be.Yet, he came into the world without a single cry, worrying the doctors about his breathing. 

From the moment he entered the world, he was wise, intuitive, compassionate, and fair. He’s particular about who gets to witness his magic, revealing it only to those he has carefully vetted. He is the best of both his father and me.

I exist to help shape a world where he can soar freely, unburdened by the barriers imposed by race. He is my North Star, my anchor, and the foundation of my purpose. I dream of a world where the divinity of Black boys is embraced well into manhood. But I don’t just dream—I labor.”

Education

"Education saved my life. It was my passport to upward mobility.

I learned to navigate complex spaces and acquire social capital—sometimes alone, other times alongside my middle-class classmates. I stumbled through the world, held up by sisterhood and community.

Being in those spaces required me to immediately assess threats, opportunities, etiquette, and expectations to survive. I quickly recognized the gaps in my preparation due to my socioeconomic status and had to pivot—constantly.

Most importantly, because I often navigated these spaces alone, I became skilled at ‘reading’ organizational dynamics to maximize what felt like my one chance to access the resources I needed.”
Nikka eventually combined her instinct for survival and the wisdom of lived experience with formal academic training. Since then, she has been transforming organizations, drafting policy, designing evidence-based certified programming, and solving institutional challenges at the intersection of governance, democracy, spatiality, human rights, and economic development.

Her work is inspired by the countless neighborhood peers she describes as “were as smart as I am—and in many ways, smarter—but weren’t given a chance.”

Thus, she is a democracy fanatic—believing in its promise as a system that ensures access to opportunity for all and, therefore, must be fiercely protected.
I am a polymath, a trained scholar, an experienced practitioner, and a social gadfly by birthright. I have deep connections to Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other communities of color across the U.S.

I've earned a B.A. in Political Science emphasis in Race & Ethnic Studies; an M.P.A. in Public Administration (International Affairs & Program Evaluation), an M.A. in African American and African Diaspora Studies (Human Development), a Ph.D. in Urban Planning & Public Policy, an Executive Certificate in Social Impact Strategies, and am a Chartered Advisor of Philanthropy.
At the core of all my efforts is an unwavering commitment to state stability. This red-through line is ever-present in my academic scholarship, employment, technological creations, and strategic management portfolio.
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Early Life

Nikka calls herself a “Wississippian” - a Mississippi-born child, raised in the Midwest city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a result, her youth summers were spent “down south” in her small town of origin, Cleveland, Mississippi, with cousins, aunties, her father, and grandmother. In a town with a population of less than 10,000 residents, any mischief was customarily reported back to her “folx” before she could return home, therefore making for an interesting summer. 

Nikka describes herself as her ancestors’ wildest dreams and gratefully acknowledges those whose shoulders she honorably and humbly stand upon. She draws strength and inspiration primarily from three sources: her maternal grandfather, mother and her “Sun”.

Grandfather

“My grandfather, Will Lee Lemons, born in 1892, was a WWI veteran who returned home to become a small businessman. He wholeheartedly believed in our country’s declaration and commitment to racial justice and indiscriminate access to the American dreams, so he served.

Unfortunately, upon his return he was regarded as 'getting out of place,' and white supremacy inflicted wounds that he eventually succumbed to.

Nevertheless, his spirit of service, innovation, and optimism were passed along to me through my mother."

Mother

“My mom, Mary Lemons, is a gentle giant who oozes and epitomizes kindness and quiet strength. She tried to impart her quiet ways upon my rebellious warrior spirit, we finally came to a truce, and she loves me unconditionally anyway. I am so honored to be her daughter. She’s an illiterate sharecropper who moved North to Milwaukee, WI in hopes that her children would be afforded access to the American Dreams. Unfortunately, her income only afforded us residency in some of the most distressed communities. However, her optimism and joy never wavered. I owe her the materialization of her prayers and steadfast beliefs."

Asa

Asa, My Sun, is the saving grace and deepest inspiration of my life. The oncologist said that he couldn’t be but he came into the world without a single cry that the doctors were worried. He arrived to this world already wise, intuitive, compassionate, and fair. He is the greatest parts of his father and me. I exist to support the world in becoming a place where he can experience the fullness of his wings void of impediments based on race. He is my Northstar and anchors my purpose. I dream of a world whereby the divinity of black boys is embraced even into manhood. I don’t only dream, I labor. 

Education

"Education saved my life. It was my passport to upward mobility. I learned to navigate complex spaces and acquire social capital almost alone or joined at the hip with some of my middle-class classmates. I was stumbling through the world and held up by sisterhood and community. My presence in those spaces meant that I had to immediately perceive threats, opportunities, the etiquette, as well as the demands if I were to remain. I was able to quickly understand the ways in which I wasn’t prepared or equipped due to my socio-economic status and had to immediately pivot. Most importantly, because I was often navigating alone, I learned how to “read” the organizational encounters in order to optimize what felt like ‘my one chance’ to access the resources.”  
Nikka eventually combined this natural niche for survival/the wisdom of her lived experience with academic training. She has been transforming organizations, drafting policy, designing evidence-based certified programming, and solving agencies’ problems of practice at the intersection of governance and democracy, spatiality, human rights, and economic development ever since.

Her work is inspired by the countless neighborhood peers she states “were smart as I am and in many ways smarter but weren’t given a chance”. Thus, she is a democracy fanatic–a government model she believes ensures that all are able to access opportunity and therefore must be protected.
I am a polymath, a trained scholar, an experienced practitioner, and a social gadfly by birthright. I have deep connections to Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other people of color communities throughout the US.

I've earned a B.A. in Political Science emphasis in Race & Ethnic Studies; an M.P.A. in Public Administration (International Affairs & Program Evaluation), an M.A. in African American and African Diaspora Studies (Human Development), a Ph.D. in Urban Planning & Public Policy, an Executive Certificate in Social Impact Strategies, and am a Chartered Advisor of Philanthropy.
At the core of all my efforts is an unwavering commitment to state stability. This red-through line is ever-present in my academic scholarship, employment, technological creations, and strategic management portfolio.
Return to:
Home
About
Services
My Pen
Contact