California, United States

Deputy Director, Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition

Niki is a seasoned social justice leader who is fueled by her experience being incarcerated and serving twenty-five years in state institutions. Niki was charged as an adult at 17 and sentenced to 45 years to life in prison. Throughout her incarceration, she became a certified Drug and Alcohol counselor and the co-founder and director of an organization providing policy advocacy for young people who were convicted through the adult penal system. Since her release in March 2019, Niki has excelled in providing trauma-informed mentorship and practices in the community and has been involved in the Credible Messenger Movement, working with system-impacted and formerly incarcerated people. As the Deputy Director of Sister Warriors, Niki is working toward healthy and humane alternatives to terminate the endless harm created by punitive systems. She is dedicated to ending mass incarceration and the criminalization of women and trans people of all genders.

Rise Up Cohort: California, 2024