Michelle Nickens

Senior Vice President

Director, Center for Victim Services and Support Initiatives

Michelle Nickens is a senior vice president of the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) and the director of IIR’s Center for Victim Services and Support (VSS) Initiatives, which includes the Office on Violence Against Women’s (OVW) Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance Consortium (LETTAC) and the Grants to Improve the Criminal Justice Response (ICJR) technical assistance (TA) and coordination project. CVSS also encompasses the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) National Ashanti Alert Network and special projects such as the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a project in partnership with Family Service of Rhode Island and Roger Williams University. Ms. Nickens provides oversight of project development and implementation, strategic guidance, resource management, and portfolio coordination.

Previously, Ms. Nickens served as the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) Program TA senior manager, providing nationwide coordination activities and TA to the RISS Program, the six RISS Centers, and the RISS Technology Support Center. During her time at IIR, Ms. Nickens also supported the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global), the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council, the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website, and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative. In 2006, IIR honored Ms. Nickens with the IIR Chairman’s Award. In 2013, she received an IIR Superior Team Performance Award for support to the BJA State and Territory Fact Sheets Project Team.

Prior to joining IIR, Ms. Nickens worked with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Her first assignment was as an operations and management consultant supervising the Criminal History Accounting section. She also worked as a management review specialist and senior management analyst in the Investigations and Forensic Science Program, with responsibilities including developing and implementing policy, supporting domestic security initiatives, strategic planning, creating and monitoring performance measures, reviewing budget and resource allocations, and serving as project lead on numerous projects. Ms. Nickens served on the team that drafted the Florida Domestic Security Plan after 9/11. Her last position with FDLE was as a policy and systems administrator, supervising the activities mentioned above as well as the Florida Analyst Academy, information systems, and accreditation. Ms. Nickens received the Ritchie Grant Values Award at FDLE in 1997 and was honored with a Program and Department Award for Performance in both 1999 and 2000.

Ms. Nickens graduated from FDLE’s Foundational Leadership Program in 1999 and from Leadership Tallahassee in 2002. She was nominated for the 2002 Pacesetter of the Year at the Tallahassee Distinguished Leadership Awards, receiving a Proclamation from the mayor for her contributions to the community. In 2015, Ms. Nickens was one of 55 individuals selected statewide for Leadership Florida Class XXXIV. Ms. Nickens has held several leadership positions in the community, currently serving as the Theatre Tallahassee board president. Ms. Nickens has acted in or directed many productions, receiving awards in both capacities. Ms. Nickens is an artisan, creator, and published author. Her novel Precious little Secrets was named one of Tallahassee’s Best Beach Reads. Her play Wild Refuge received the Audience Award at the 2006 National PlayFest. Ms. Nickens has written and published more than 50 articles and is working on a second novel, Color-Blinded. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Nova Southeastern University and a bachelor’s degree in business from Florida State University and is currently a doctoral student at Euclid University, an international university accredited by the United Nations, pursuing a degree in mediation and conflict resolution.