Nikisha Baker Named President and CEO
Nikisha J. Baker Selected as SAMMinistries’ Fourth President and CEO
SAMMinistries’ Leadership Transition Team has appointed Nikisha J. Baker to serve as the new President and CEO of the organization. Baker currently serves as SAMMinistries’ Chief Operating Officer and will replace Navarra Williams, who formally retired on Aug. 29, 2020. Baker will officially assume her new role on Sept. 7, 2020.
Following the announcement in April of Williams’ intention to retire, the Board of Directors created a Leadership Transition Team and appointed Board Member Rick Rosenblum as Interim Administrator. The board also engaged a search firm – Opt In Experts – to conduct a national search to ensure SAMMinistries found the best candidate to lead the Ministry.
“First on behalf of SAMMinistries, let me thank Navarra Williams for his thirteen years of service and leadership to this Ministry. Upon announcing his retirement, the board appointed a transition committee to perform a very detailed search for the best possible candidate to lead the Ministry forward. This extensive effort resulted in the conclusion that Nikisha Baker was the unanimous best choice. We are excited to share the journey on which Nikisha will take SAMMinistries into the future,” said Bill Waldrip, SAMMinistries Board Chair.
Baker began as a volunteer at SAMMinistries’ Transitional Living and Learning Center (TLLC). In September 2015, she assumed the role of Development Director and was later promoted to chief development officer. When Navarra Williams announced his retirement in April, she stepped into the role of Chief Operating Officer.
In her five years with the Ministry, Baker developed and implemented the annual fundraising strategy, including grant requests to corporate and family foundations, government and quasi-governmental entities, major gifts and campaign solicitations. She has also been responsible for several special projects, including two major renovations at the TLLC, mission-driven strategic planning, and media and public relations.
“SAMMinistries has been blessed with three wonderful leaders over the past 37 years” said John Prinzing, SAMMinistries’ Board Secretary and Chair of the Leadership Transition Team. “We are delighted to have Nikisha Baker assume leadership of this vital Ministry in San Antonio. We are confident her passion and experience will continue the legacy of serving those who are facing or experiencing homelessness.”
Throughout her 15-year career, Baker has served in a number of development roles in the education and social services sectors. She has been involved in several strategic planning initiatives that resulted in public, private and nonprofit partnerships, development of new programs and refinement of service delivery mechanisms.
“I am blessed and humbled to serve as SAMMinistries’ next president and CEO,” said Baker. “I stand on the shoulders of servant leaders who have built an extraordinary Ministry focused on helping San Antonians overcome homelessness and become self-sufficient. I look forward to building on their legacy of successful outcomes with vulnerable families and individuals.”
In 2019, SAMMinistries served 4,386 individuals experiencing homelessness. As the face of homelessness changes, SAMMinistries remains true to its mission of serving the homeless in San Antonio with compassion and dignity.