Nikki Buckstead

CEO, Child & Family Center

 

Ms. Buckstead began working in the nonprofit, social services field in 1991. Her passion has always been in service and helping others. She's held several positions in her career including CEO, executive director, coalition director, advocacy work, and a variety of consulting positions, providing, strategic planning, cultural competency coaching, program implementation, and building cross-functional relationships. Her background and experience is rich in a variety of different settings and she brings that breadth and depth of her experience with her when working with organizations.

With over 30 years of experience in social services, her passion for advocacy and working to reduce stigma, and build collaboration which has led her to work extensively in the fields of mental health, substance use, and homelessness. Working in a variety of settings where the collective impact was the leading mission, her work in coalition settings has been at the forefront of her vision of nonprofits where collaboration over competition exists.

She has extensive experience collaborating in communities, working with partners, members, funders, and Stakeholders, to support building networks, capacity, and sustainability, through innovation, adaptability, as well as being community-focused and data-informed. In 2012, Nikki worked as a cultural competency coach, was a consultant for the Equity and Wellness Institute, and worked to adopt the Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement, for the organization, which received an "A+" grade from Mind OC.

She has also committed her time to many local and national boards, leading community coalitions. For several years she owned and operated Transformative Coaching and Consulting Services where she provided executive coaching and programs to those in the social services and healthcare fields. She has extensive experience working with youth, teachers and administrators, community, faith-based and national leaders, government officials, law enforcement, program directors, academicians, researchers, and evaluators. She possesses an in-depth knowledge of collaboration and nonprofits and an ability to communicate complex concepts to the public.