From fighting for her right to attend public school as a child to securing accessible high school library doors as an elected leader, Nicki has spent her life proving that every voice deserves a meaningful seat at the table. An attorney, dedicated public servant, and fierce disability rights advocate, she champions inclusion, dignity, and equal opportunity at every decision-making level—and when she isn't breaking down barriers in her community, you can usually find her diving into a good book, cheering on college basketball, or hanging out with her famously named cat, Vincent Van Goatee.

What's your story? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Nicki's story is centered on the importance of having a voice, being included, and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to participate in decisions that affect their lives. As a longtime advocate for people with disabilities, inclusion, accessibility, and equal opportunity, much of her work has focused on ensuring that people too often left out of conversations have a meaningful seat at the table.

She also had the privilege of serving on the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education. That experience reinforced her belief that public institutions have a responsibility to listen to the people they serve, especially individuals and families whose voices are not always heard. Whether she is working on disability rights, public education, or community issues, Nicki always comes back to the same core principle: "People should have the opportunity to make decisions about their own lives, and their voices should matter."

How are you involved with self-determination? What advocacy things are you involved in?

Self-determination has been part of Nicki's life for as long as she can remember. When she was five years old, she was told that she was uneducable and should be institutionalized, but she and her family fought for her right to attend public school alongside other children. That early experience taught her something fundamental: "People with disabilities should not have other people decide what they are capable of achieving. We should have the same opportunities to make choices, take risks, pursue our goals, and direct our own lives as anyone else."

She has carried that belief into her work as an attorney, a disability advocate, and a public servant. Her focus areas include:

• Education rights: Fighting for inclusive education and ensuring students with disabilities are not excluded, isolated, or unnecessarily disciplined.
  

• Disability rights: Advocating for accessibility, dignity, equal opportunity, and the right to participate fully in community life.
  

• Self-advocacy: Encouraging people with disabilities to speak for themselves and ensuring decision-makers listen to them.
  

• Community inclusion: Supporting opportunities for people with disabilities to live, work, learn, and participate in their communities.
  

• Public policy: Working to make government and public institutions more accountable to people with disabilities and their families.
  

Nicki also serves on the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education and the City of Madison Disability Rights Commission. She believes that people with disabilities need to be represented everywhere decisions affecting communities are made, especially emphasizing the principle, "Nothing About Us Without Us."

Tell us some good news - what's the most exciting thing happening for you (or in Wisconsin) in terms of self-determination?

Nicki is most excited about the addition of accessible doors at the Madison Metropolitan School District's (MMSD) four comprehensive high school libraries after a four-year fight. She believes that something as ordinary as opening a library door should never become a barrier to participating fully in a school community, stating: "Accessibility is not a privilege, a favor, or an optional accommodation. It is a right."

For students who use wheelchairs or have mobility limitations, a heavy door can mean losing independence or feeling singled out. Nicki has pushed for this issue because she believes accessibility must be part of how the district plans, budgets, and makes decisions—not something addressed only when someone complains or when a building undergoes renovations.

The fight for accessible library doors is about much more than hardware; it is about recognizing that students with disabilities deserve the same independence, dignity, and opportunities as every other student. This achievement highlights why disability representation and advocacy on the school board matter, ensuring leaders at the decision-making table recognize barriers that others may never notice. While proud of this progress, Nicki emphasizes that the district cannot stop with four schools, urging public institutions to continually ask whose needs have not yet been considered.

What tip or resource would you like to share with people who want to be more self-determined?

Nicki encourages people to get to know disability laws and use the website wirightslaw.com to find documents to help advocate.

What are some of your hobbies?

Nicki's favorite hobbies are reading, watching college basketball, and spending time with her cat, Vincent Van Goatee.

***We love hearing the views and opinions of Network members. We need to mention that the views and opinions expressed on this site are those of the person who is sharing them. They do not necessarily reflect InControl Wisconsin or any of our supporters and funders.

The Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (BPDD) released legislative policy priorities that focus on upholding the rights of people with disabilities to receive care at home, get an education, and live and work in their communities.

People with disabilities fought for decades for laws that ensure that we cannot be set aside and locked away in institutions. A recent U.S. Department of Justice memo says these laws do not give people the right to live in their own homes and communities. Medicaid cuts and federal actions targeting home care funding threaten the care infrastructure Wisconsin has built to prevent people with disabilities and older adults from unnecessarily ending up in costly Medicaid-funded nursing homes and other institutional settings.