Member since August 2018
Nikki Innocent is a humanity activist, two-time TEDx speaker, podcast host and social entrepreneur with a focus on women’s leadership and diversity & inclusion. After over a decade of experience, Nikki left her corporate career to venture into entrepreneurship. Nikki believes that storytelling and experience-sharing are keys to guiding organizations to hire, celebrate, and empower employees with diverse perspectives to create a more inclusive, innovative, and profitable workplace.
As a coach, Nikki helps guide individuals to get comfortable in their vulnerability and challenge the boxes they’ve been put in throughout their lives. Nikki is the host of “Checkbox Other”, a podcast celebrating people who don’t fit in a defined box or category. Nikki believes there is magic in sharing our stories of feeling “othered” because we become more connected with how we are all more the same than we are different.
Creating opportunities for people to feel "seen," overcome barriers and connect with one another.
After decades of "doing the right thing" to build the perfectly groomed life, career & resume, Nikki found herself crying in the bathroom stall at work one too many times and knew it was time to make a change. She had completely lost herself in trying to be all the things that society said would make her happy. She left her corporate career behind and bet on herself to start her own business. She dove into the aspects of her journey that had blocked her ability to be, lead and operate as fully herself. Each and everyday her goal is to create the opportunity for people to be seen as their full selves.
As a product of an interracial marriage that a mere twenty years before she was born was seen as illegal, Nikki has lived her life with a sense of purpose that her existence in many spaces is transformative and challenges the status quo. The daughter of a Haitian immigrant and a feminist mother, she was told she could be whatever she wanted to be. While in practice, society can make that difficult for the identity buckets she falls into, her focus is to use her voice and story to show people there is room for you to be authentically yourself -- as a woman in business and in sport, as a person of color in spaces that don't "see" you, as a creative in analytically driven environments, etc. The most common question in Nikki's life has been "What are you?" and as a result her mission is for that question to transform from an inquiry to categorize or explain yourself to an opportunity to celebrate all of the uniqueness you bring into this world.
As of May 2019, the World Health Organization categorized "burn-out" as a syndrome. Burnout, or the physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress, is something that 95% of HR executives say is hurting efforts to retain their employees. The first step is acknowledging that it's happening and calling it what it is, then what? Well, Nikki will walk you through her path forward after burnout, talk about the factors that create burnout and will discuss various techniques to overcome or proactively thwart burnout before the syndrome takes over.
Since the beginning of her life, Nikki has always been one to push the boundaries, and to not always abide by the rules of society. In her talk she discusses how this has helped her in all facets of her life, and shares with the audience the rules that she has set for herself. As an entrepreneur in woman's leadership, it's pretty clear these rules have helped her to succeed. Nikki Innocent is a trailblazing entrepreneur, women's leadership and diversity & inclusion coach, and podcast host. With a belief that we can create true connection through understanding that despite our differences, we are all, as humans, more alike than we are different, Nikki launched a podcast, Checkbox Other, that celebrates stories of “otherness” and the power of shared humanity. She works to empower more diverse and inclusive voices in business and beyond to strengthen company culture and inspire more authentic leadership. (TEDx talk)
Have you ever felt like you needed to choose identity buckets that don't fit you or feel sufficient? As human beings we are programmed to categorize information to make quick decisions in times of crisis or stress that trigger the fight or flight response. But because of this tendency we've overcorrected to force ourselves into identity boxes that don't necessarily capture who we are or what we need. In this talk, Nikki talks about the importance of embracing the aspects of yourself that are different from the rest and how recognizing and celebrating those "other" aspects of your identity can activate your special superpower or the gift you were put on this earth to bring to life.
(TEDx talk)
This workshop centers on the power and opportunity that Millennials, the largest generation in our country, have at their fingertips to take our society into the next frontier. As our country (and the world in general) becomes a more diverse and educated place, the Millennial generation will inevitably be leaned upon as a beacon for the US to live up to its economic and societal potential.
And as Millennial women, the most financially independent and educated generation of women in history, we have the privilege and opportunity to reinvent the model of what leadership and power will look like for generations to come.
We will explore key characteristics that make Millennials unique and vital to the growth and unity of our society, and discuss ways we can call on other generations to join in this evolution. We will brainstorm the systemic rules that need to be rewritten, and examine the underlying barriers and limiting beliefs that many women leaders carry, and how to let go of those beliefs that hold us back. This session will prepare and inspire emerging professionals to lead more courageously and authentically.
After decades of "doing the right thing" to build the perfectly groomed life, career & resume, Nikki found herself crying in the bathroom stall at work one too many times and knew it was time to make a change. She had completely lost herself in trying to be all the things that society said would make her happy. She left her corporate career behind and bet on herself to start her own business. She dove into the aspects of her journey that had blocked her ability to be, lead and operate as fully herself. Each and everyday her goal is to create the opportunity for people to be seen as their full selves.
As a product of an interracial marriage that a mere twenty years before she was born was seen as illegal, Nikki has lived her life with a sense of purpose that her existence in many spaces is transformative and challenges the status quo. The daughter of a Haitian immigrant and a feminist mother, she was told she could be whatever she wanted to be. While in practice, society can make that difficult for the identity buckets she falls into, her focus is to use her voice and story to show people there is room for you to be authentically yourself -- as a woman in business and in sport, as a person of color in spaces that don't "see" you, as a creative in analytically driven environments, etc. The most common question in Nikki's life has been "What are you?" and as a result her mission is for that question to transform from an inquiry to categorize or explain yourself to an opportunity to celebrate all of the uniqueness you bring into this world.
As of May 2019, the World Health Organization categorized "burn-out" as a syndrome. Burnout, or the physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress, is something that 95% of HR executives say is hurting efforts to retain their employees. The first step is acknowledging that it's happening and calling it what it is, then what? Well, Nikki will walk you through her path forward after burnout, talk about the factors that create burnout and will discuss various techniques to overcome or proactively thwart burnout before the syndrome takes over.
Since the beginning of her life, Nikki has always been one to push the boundaries, and to not always abide by the rules of society. In her talk she discusses how this has helped her in all facets of her life, and shares with the audience the rules that she has set for herself. As an entrepreneur in woman's leadership, it's pretty clear these rules have helped her to succeed. Nikki Innocent is a trailblazing entrepreneur, women's leadership and diversity & inclusion coach, and podcast host. With a belief that we can create true connection through understanding that despite our differences, we are all, as humans, more alike than we are different, Nikki launched a podcast, Checkbox Other, that celebrates stories of “otherness” and the power of shared humanity. She works to empower more diverse and inclusive voices in business and beyond to strengthen company culture and inspire more authentic leadership. (TEDx talk)
Have you ever felt like you needed to choose identity buckets that don't fit you or feel sufficient? As human beings we are programmed to categorize information to make quick decisions in times of crisis or stress that trigger the fight or flight response. But because of this tendency we've overcorrected to force ourselves into identity boxes that don't necessarily capture who we are or what we need. In this talk, Nikki talks about the importance of embracing the aspects of yourself that are different from the rest and how recognizing and celebrating those "other" aspects of your identity can activate your special superpower or the gift you were put on this earth to bring to life.
(TEDx talk)
This workshop centers on the power and opportunity that Millennials, the largest generation in our country, have at their fingertips to take our society into the next frontier. As our country (and the world in general) becomes a more diverse and educated place, the Millennial generation will inevitably be leaned upon as a beacon for the US to live up to its economic and societal potential.
And as Millennial women, the most financially independent and educated generation of women in history, we have the privilege and opportunity to reinvent the model of what leadership and power will look like for generations to come.
We will explore key characteristics that make Millennials unique and vital to the growth and unity of our society, and discuss ways we can call on other generations to join in this evolution. We will brainstorm the systemic rules that need to be rewritten, and examine the underlying barriers and limiting beliefs that many women leaders carry, and how to let go of those beliefs that hold us back. This session will prepare and inspire emerging professionals to lead more courageously and authentically.
