Niki Gates

Previous roles at company: Senior Consultant, Consultant

Strategic Advisory & Leadership

• Co-led an internal Center for Excellence serving as a think tank to disseminate legislative and regulatory updates, develop reusable tools and frameworks, and elevate service delivery quality across a nationwide client portfolio
• Serve as a subject matter expert in federal reporting, providing technical guidance to state and local government clients nationwide and contributing to business development through strategic framework development

Federal Grant Compliance & Reporting

• Managed federal compliance and reporting obligations across multiple large-scale COVID-19 relief programs, collectively overseeing more than $3.8B in federal awards, with zero audit findings across all engagements
• Oversaw preparation and submission of monthly, quarterly, and annual reports to satisfy U.S. Treasury requirements and other reporting obligations, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and full regulatory compliance

Financial Strategy & Risk Mitigation

• Led funding strategy efforts for large federal awards, advising senior leadership on allowable activities and structuring risk mitigation strategies aligned with organizational priorities
• Conducted program sustainability assessments — including facilitated leadership sessions and quantitative analysis — that resulted in a multi-year budget recommendation to sustain high-priority initiatives beyond the federal funding period
• Strengthened subrecipient management practices by developing updated policy manuals, process maps, and risk assessment tools to proactively identify and address compliance vulnerabilities

Executive Communications & Stakeholder Engagement

• Delivered recurring briefings to Chief Financial Officers and senior leadership, translating complex federal requirements into clear, actionable guidance on expenditure progress, compliance considerations, and regulatory deadlines
• Supported multi-stakeholder listening sessions by leading data collection and analysis that surfaced key funding themes and community-driven investment ideas used to inform long-term program planning

Data & Process Design

• Designed governance frameworks, standardized templates, compliance review processes, and real-time dashboards aggregating multi-source data across 70+ initiatives, enabling executive decision-making and expenditure monitoring at the program, funding source, and portfolio levels

• Led strategic execution of a campus volunteer program by supervising a team of 6 interns, managing resources, and providing leadership with regular progress updates and gap assessments; maintained relationships with 120+ community partners to increase campus visibility and drive volunteer engagement
• Planned and executed monthly events through staffing analysis, resource coordination, and detailed communications; conducted post-event debriefs to identify improvement opportunities and implement solutions for future programming
• Researched volunteer management best practices and translated findings into memos, proposals, and guides for executive leadership and community partners, while marketing office resources through presentations and targeted written and oral communications

• Completed two terms of AmeriCorps service: AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps, Field Team Leader; AmeriCorps VISTA, VISTA Leader

• Managed a cohort of 11 AmeriCorps VISTA members by developing meaningful service opportunities, supporting member growth, and ensuring compliance with federal program standards; submitted quarterly reports to satisfy grant requirements and authored 8 training manuals to communicate program policies, job roles, and technical processes
• Designed 5 tracking systems to streamline recruitment, onboarding, and reporting processes — including tools and templates for sub-grantees — and developed recruitment strategies that attracted qualified applicants and filled positions efficiently
• Cultivated relationships with community partners to align organizational goals, design balanced position descriptions, and foster positive working relationships; organized monthly professional development opportunities by developing training curricula and leveraging community partnerships

• Led a team of 8 FEMA Corps members for 11 months within an Incident Command Structure, managing personnel, delegating assignments, and serving as the primary point of contact for member conduct, health, and well-being across a 24/7 on-call schedule in demanding field environments with temporary living and working facilities
• Managed and accounted for $80,000 in federal funding and assets, overseeing team expenditures while coordinating with NCCC and FEMA leadership on project status and resource requirements
• Conducted disaster recovery operations across five hurricane and flooding disasters in the southern United States

• Led a team of 8 FEMA Corps members for 11 months within an Incident Command Structure (ICS) on a 24-hour on call work schedule with irregular and/or long working hours under austere environments, including living and working in temporary facilities
• Coordinated team projects through delegation of work assignments, communication with NCCC and FEMA Leadership, regarding status and personnel requirements, and service as primary point of contact for issues pertaining to member conduct, health, and well-being
• Used the Deployment Tracking System (DTS) to account for all members and provide information for strategic staffing and deployment planning
• Managed and accounted for $80,000 of federal funding and assets, including oversight of a budget for team expenditures
• Communicated project status, member updates, and team activities through detailed weekly reports to maintain positive relationships with supervisors and project sponsors
• Coordinated all travel arrangements including route specification, vehicle maintenance, lodging procurements, and budgeting
• Deployments:
• Disaster DR-4277-LA, Individual Assistance Specialist, Baton Rouge, LA 08/21/16 – 10/07/16
• Oversaw administrative duties at 2 Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs); liaised with the AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team (ADRT) in registering 500+ survivors for Crisis Cleanup Assistance; referred survivors to appropriate resources including HUD, SBA, Catholic Charities, American Red Cross
• Disaster DR-4283-FL, Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) Specialist, Jacksonville and St. Augustine, FL 10/11/16 – 12/18/16
• Coordinated with county emergency managers, DRCs, and FEMA DSA Crew Leads to plan canvassing operations targeting the most-affected areas; managed the canvassing of 7,200 homes in Florida resulting in 3,700 survivor interactions by ensuring safe completion of assigned grids; facilitated 120+ survivor registrations; compiled information for and drafted daily crew reports detailing observations, trends, and rumors from the field
• Disasters DR-4263-LA; DR-4277-LA; DR-4300-LA, Individual Assistance Specialist, Baton Rouge, LA 01/11/2017 – 04/19/2017
• Supported the Voluntary Agency Liaisons at the Baton Rouge Joint Field Office by conducting Duplication of Benefits analyses using the National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS), developing tracking systems, compiling data for comprehensive reports of findings, and identifying 100+ grants for individuals and businesses; closed out the ADRT Crisis Cleanup response for DR-4277-LA

• Managed the quality assurance process for 8 client accounts and maintained efficient workflow of all products by establishing and adhering to agreed-upon project timelines and communicating progress with team members
• Ensured the quality and formatting of reports and surveys before distribution by conducting detailed visual checks and comparing final products to initial specification requests
• Verified accuracy of data by using internal software to recreate calculations and ensure proper interpretation of results