Nikki Buckstead
- Chief Executive Officer
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 leadership positions in mental/behavioral health, substance use treatment/prevention, and family homeless services over her 30+ year career. She has also held various consulting roles, providing strategic planning, cultural competency coaching, program implementation, and building cross-functional teams and relationships.
As part of her leadership positions, she has also been the CEO of two national nonprofit organizations focusing on advocacy, education, and systems change. She brings this breadth and depth of her experience to her current role as CEO of the Child & Family Center here in the Santa Clarita Valley, where she works daily with a fantastic team of caring professionals. https://www.childfamilycenter.org
Nikki has served on various local, state, and national boards, including advising and facilitating Governor Schwarzenegger’s California Methamphetamine Implementation Initiative. She was elected to serve on Orange County’s Homeless Continuum of Care Board, filling the seat for systems change and advocacy for families and children who were housing insecure and/or homeless. She was appointed a Commissioner to the Sacramento County Behavioral Health Commission and served as vice-chair. She is a member of the LA County Department of Children and Family Services Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, which works on policy to ensure coordination of multi-agency development of services for the prevention, identification, prosecution, and treatment of child abuse and neglect.
She has hundreds of hours of leadership training through the California Health Initiative Leadership Academy and Women’s Executive Leadership Forum and extensive National Leadership Training through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency, Department of Human Services (DHHS).
She co-wrote “Recipe for Success” with acclaimed author Jack Canfield and others. She has been a featured speaker at various events promoting workplace wellness, individual and family self-care, women’s leadership, and community engagement.
Ms. Buckstead is a certified meditation teacher and yoga instructor, a Certified Project Manager Professional through Cornell University, and a Certified Workplace Wellness Manager through the National Wellness Institute.
Having visited over 30 countries, she loves to travel and experience different cultures. She enjoys spending her time having new experiences and being with friends and family. You can find her enjoying paddleboarding, hiking, museums, and music.