WHO I AM
Flawed yet flawless.Manifesting and executing.Always becoming.
Manifesting is one of my superpowers. But I do not separate it from execution. I see the vision, and then I take the class, make the call, build the skill, do the work, and keep moving until it becomes real. That is not magic. That is The Riveting Way™.
I am a wife and mother, a speaker, entrepreneur, community builder, nonprofit CEO, writer, and director. I lead an organization that serves thousands of people across our community. I am writing a book and building a body of work called The Riveting Way™.
And I am still figuring things out. That is not a disclaimer. That is The Riveting Way.
I grew up with big dreams and an even bigger fear of what would happen if I actually chased them. The fear of not knowing what would happen if I did not go after them won, so I packed my car and drove to Los Angeles alone, not knowing a soul, terrified and going anyway.
That became the pattern of my whole life. I started things without a map. I built things before I knew exactly how to build them. I learned that clarity does not always come before the move. Sometimes it comes through it.
Somewhere along the way, Riveting Nikki became my identity online. My social handle, my Gmail, the name of my blog. I was naming something in that digital space that I could not yet define in real life.
Then one day, a mentor and former ART INC board president gave me an assignment. Sit down and name your values. Really name them, on paper, honestly. I did the work. And something stopped me mid-page. I realized I had already been living a philosophy. For decades. I just had never called it anything.
The girl who drove to Los Angeles terrified. The girl who vowed never to tell her true story and then wrote a one woman show about it anyway. The woman who co-founded an organization without the experience people said she needed. The leader who kept moving before the whole path was visible.
That was The Riveting Way™. And it had been mine all along.
THE WORK
In 2016, my husband Jonathon and I began building the vision that would eventually become ART INC. On December 12, 2017, we formally established the organization.
We began with very little beyond a shared vision and a deep belief that young people in our community deserved access to the arts, education, culture, and a mirror that showed them who they could become.
Today, ART INC is a multimillion-dollar community institution serving children, young people, adults, and families through arts education, youth development, workforce development, educational opportunities, gun violence prevention, and community support.
Jonathon is more than my partner in life. He is an accomplished visual artist, mentor, co-founder, and the Chief Innovation Officer of ART INC. His artistry, imagination, and belief in the transformative power of creative opportunity have shaped this organization from the beginning.
He has believed in me, challenged me, and built beside me through every risk, setback, breakthrough, and season of growth. We bring different gifts to the work, but the vision has always been shared. ART INC would not be what it is today without him.
We did not wait until we felt completely ready. We moved, learned, adjusted, and built the blueprint as we went.
EmpowHER Our Girls was founded by Nikki Romain in 2020 to create meaningful opportunities for girls to grow, connect, and discover what is possible for their lives. Through mentorship, cultural experiences, educational opportunities, travel, and intentional sisterhood, the program exposes young women to new worlds while helping them build confidence, leadership skills, and a stronger sense of self.
At its heart, EmpowHER Our Girls is about making sure girls are not only told they can dream bigger. They are given the opportunity to see, experience, and believe it for themselves.
THE LIFE
Outside of the work, I am a wife to Jonathon, my partner in life and in so much of what I have built. I am a mother to our daughter, who reminds me every day why legacy matters. I am also proud to have bonus sons who add another layer of love, history, and meaning to our family.
I love gathering people around a table, traveling with my family, creating stories, and finding beauty in ordinary moments. My faith grounds me. My family keeps me honest. Creativity keeps calling me forward.
My life is full, sometimes beautifully and sometimes messily. I am still learning how to lead, love, create, rest, and make room for the woman I am becoming.
I am not a finished product. I am a woman in process, committed to the work, committed to the journey, and committed to becoming.
“I am all of these things. And I am still becoming.”DISCOVER THE RIVETING WAY™