Nikki Tierney is a proud mom of four, including 25-year-old triplets—Ashley, Kyle, and Amanda—and a 22-year-old son, Kole. A former NCAA Academic All-American, she played both basketball and soccer at the Division II collegiate level. Nikki earned her Juris Doctor with honors from Rutgers School of Law–Newark in 1997 and practiced law for nearly a decade.

After a long struggle with opioid use disorder, Nikki surrendered her law license and, in 2007—feeling helpless and hopeless—attempted to end her life, unknowingly beginning a journey of recovery and transformation. With proper diagnosis and evidence-based treatment for co-occurring mental health conditions, she reclaimed her life and committed herself to advocacy, systems change, and stigma reduction.

In 2018, Nikki returned to graduate school at Monmouth University, earning a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a 4.0 GPA and receiving the 2021 Advocacy Award. She is now a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, and Certified Recovery Support Practitioner.

Nikki currently works at CPC Integrated Health, a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC), and owns a private practice, Hope-Fullness Counseling, Prevention, and Education. She also serves as a policy analyst with the National Center for Advocacy and Recovery and has successfully advocated for changes to New Jersey state laws related to expungement and the adoption of stigma-free language in state systems.