Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Eberhardt.
Nikki, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My parents raised me to be cognizant of those who were different than me. They also taught me to develop empathy for others. I had the opportunity to build this muscle by spending time working with inmates at the prison, refugees who had recently resettled to the United States, and children with special needs.
I remember coming home from a date night late one evening during high school. My dad was sitting on the couch, watching television. A commercial flashed across the screen, requesting donations for Ethiopians who were adversely impacted by famine. My heart broke–I knew that there were girls there just as visionary, aspirational, and hopeful in their futures as I was. But there was one stark difference between them and me: I had the opportunity and they did not. It wasn’t fair and it cut deep as I contemplated this inequality.
That night, I committed to monthly sponsoring an Ethiopian child so they could attend school and have sufficient resources to meet their needs. Over the years, we shared photos, sketches, and letters that expressed what we desired our lives to become. We connected in our sameness. I was changed by the things they taught me.
The commitment to a child in Ethiopia went beyond that engagement, however. That night I told myself that I would do all in my power to give voice to others like these girls so they could live out their hopes and dreams for themselves and others. This approach became my mantra, mission, and life goal: to power people with audacious solutions, armed to tackle the globe’s most intractable challenges. I hoped that all people could be empowered to act.
Fast forward a few decades. I have worked across industries and sectors to tackle extreme poverty, gender inequality, and migration issues. I completed a master’s degree in international development while I worked in Bolivia, a Ph.D. in global sociology where I leveraged statistics to analyze patterns and trends of global issues and ultimately refugee youth education, and an MBA from Oxford where I learned how to collaborate effectively with numerous partners to move the needle on the issues I cared most about.
Now I disrupt at the intersection of edtech, executive leadership, and scalable social and environmental impact.
I have the opportunity to be a business professor for a San Francisco-based Minerva University that is seeking to disrupt higher education and train the next cadre of global leaders. We serve students from around the globe as they live in seven global cities over four years.
I am privileged to work for a global talent team at Delta Air Lines. We are in the business of developing servant leaders from among our 80,000 employees and coaching them to excellence.
I also work with Global Citizen, an advocacy and fundraising organization that seeks to defeat poverty, defend the planet, and demand equity. It is a movement harnessing the voices of influencers, world leaders, and corporates with 10M Global Citizens–raising $68B in commitments, $35.4B in funds distributed, and driving 30M+ digital actions set to affect 2.5B lives.
I am honored to work in the innovative startup space as EVP Impact eThree—pioneering a digital platform with influencers, brands, and charities so GenZ can effect change and EVP Partnerships for UCO—disrupting a $600B remittance industry with migrant financial inclusion.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Never smooth. But isn’t life supposed to be full of roadblocks and challenges? I feel that confronting, conquering, and sometimes simply just coping with my challenges has shaped me into the person I am. They are mine and they have made me more resilient, empathetic and authentic.
I have chosen to do some high-risk things in life from pursuing graduate degrees to having children to scuba diving.
I nearly died scuba diving in an underground Mexican cave system. I lost seven babies to miscarriage. I felt like I lost my sanity after spending over eighteen years engaged in university training.
But honestly, as I reflect back, each of those challenges represented inflection points in my life. They offered a chance for me to choose to confront the road blocks head on. It was never easy, but I grew in the process. I occasionally fell flat on my face. But, over time, I began to demonstrate hustle, humility, stick-to-it-ness, and scrappiness. To work through the pain. To take breaks when my health required it. To be vulnerable.
Owning and walking toward hard things shape our characters and helps us survive and thrive. Sometimes doing dangerous or risky or frightening things teaches us the most.
Jordan Peterson advises parents: “You have got to make your kids tough which they better be if they are going to survive in the world. You can’t interfere if they are doing dangerous things carefully–this is where they learn. It is where everyone learns everything.”
I like to think I do dangerous things. Sometimes these include tackling my challenges. And I hope that I do them carefully so I can continue to learn.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Everyone needs a purpose. Everyone needs a mission. Everyone needs a find a north star.
I have always tried to be mission-driven, I understand that I play an important role in helping others feel inspired to earnestly seek and live by their purpose and mission.
I feel joy by helping others to connect and then execute their lives around purpose-driven work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nikkieberhardt.com/
