Nikki Lanier

When asked why she has focused so much of her professional life on advancing racial equity, Nikki Lanier will tell you it was an assignment passed to her “in utero”.

Born to parents who were immersed in the civil rights movement, Nikki was raised on the campus of Hampton University, one of the country’s most prominent HBCUs, and as a child was taught to see the advancement of black people as a birthright and an imperative to a civilized society. She was raised in a loving home that nurtured her curiosity around these principles but also assured her confidence in articulating the same. 

Now, as CEO and founder, Harper Slade is one of the fastest growing and most highly recognized racial equity advisory firms in the country, her work focuses on helping organizations cultivate environments where black and brown talent can thrive. Nikki has also founded two global coaching programs, one for inclined white women who want to become better racial equity advocates in their home, workplace, and community, and the other a coaching program is for professional Black women who are in need of ripening and respite.

Nikki is an experienced leader with over 25 years of career achievements that span Banking, Labor and Employment Law, Collective Bargaining, Human Resources, and State Government. A three-time Private and Public Sector Chief Human Resources Officer and previous executive with the Federal Reserve, Nikki serves on several non-profit and corporate boards and has spoken at conferences all over the world on topics ranging from race, work and economics to women in leadership and Transforming HR. 

Featured in Ebony Media, Forbes, Essence, USA Today, CNBC, PBS, Today’s Woman, Tops Magazine and others, Nikki earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law, a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Hampton University and holds a certification in Collective Bargaining from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Together, she and her husband Damon have five children.