Amassing over 12 years of experience in child welfare, Nikki Ford began her career at the Indiana Department of Child Services in 2008 as a Family Case Manager. After working 6 years on the front line of DCS as a Family Case Manager and a Family Case Manager Supervisor, she decided to pursue her interest of data and support the field staff by providing data insights into their daily work as a business analyst in the DCS Office of Data Management. This position began a new venture for her and her move into management of data and data personnel. Nikki is currently the Assistant Deputy Director of Data and Analytics driving the implementation of Tableau. Nikki lives in Avon with her 3 children and is passionate about giving back to her community through volunteering with various non-profits. Through this work she was honored as a Jefferson Award recipient in 2019.