Niki Kottmann

Board Secretary @USA TODAY Co., Inc.

Coachella Valley, CA, US

This is technically a volunteer position, but it\'s an important part of my life that should be noted in my professional profiles. I grew up in a family severely impacted by mental illness, which inspired me to be involved heavily in mental illness advocacy work in college. While studying at Mizzou, I was an Active Minds mental health peer educator and created my own mental illness awareness club at the French school where I studied abroad. After graduating and getting my first professional job in Florida, I started volunteering for NAMI Sarasota County. I fell in love with the organization and was eager to continue my work with NAMI when I moved to Wyoming, but my city didn\'t have a local chapter, so I joined the board for a local suicide prevention - a related topic I\'m very passionate about - organization called Grace for 2 Brothers. When I moved to California in 2021, I was thrilled to learn that my new area had a local NAMI chapter, so I applied for a board position right away and have been lucky enough to gain additional roles on the board such as secretary and volunteer chair for our annual walk.

Sciences Po

Journalism Certificate for International Exchange Students (Reims Campus)

Naperville North High School

High School

University of Missouri - Columbia

Bachelors