Ms. Nikkie Gomez-Whaley is a strategic, people-centered leader with over 20 years of combined public and nonprofit experience. Ms. Gomez-Whaley’s unique approach to strategic planning is heavily influenced by her time supporting leaders in the areas healthcare, education, and government improve their ability to engage stakeholders, set measurable goals and demonstrate results. She began her career in healthcare as a behavior interventionist, working collaboratively with children with disabilities and their adults to develop outcome-focused intervention plans to address counter-productive thoughts, behaviors, and actions. This experience helped cement the importance of including those who are directly impacted by plan into the planning process. Whether it was improving organizational compliance, improving processes, or maximizing resources, Nikkie has found authentic, meaningful collaboration to be the “secret” to highly impactful teams. Nikkie currently serves in the Arizona Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budget (OSPB) as the Assistant Directors of Strategic Planning. In this role, Ms. Gomez-Whaley serves as the Governor’s liaison between the governor and her 34 cabinet agencies; providing executive guidance and oversite for all strategic plans submitted to the Governor’s Office. This includes: serving as the “backbone” entity for statewide strategic planning by facilitating collaboration and alignment between agencies and the Governor’s Office; ensuring goals are measurable and tracked to demonstrate progress, and supporting the continuous improvement process. When she is not “geeking out” on panning and data, Nikkie enjoys traveling with her family, cooking, and binge watching shows.