Nikki Darling Kuria

Dynamic leader with over 30 years of experience in program management and professional development, specializing in prenatal to age three initiatives. Expertise in designing and directing impactful programs for diverse populations, fostering growth and inspiration. Proven ability to drive team performance and operational excellence through strategic planning, innovative problem-solving, and effective communication. Committed to mentoring while leveraging creativity and vision to effect positive change within organizations.

• National Association for the Education of Young Children, member (2006-Current)
• National Association for Family Child Care, member (1996-Current)
• Board of Directors, Ex-Officio Member, National Workforce Registry Alliance (Former)
• Board of Directors, Member-at-Large, National Association for Family Child Care (Former)

• Developed and delivered a 6-week synchronous course titled Reflective Practice 101: Learning Through and From Experience to a national audience.
• Developed and delivered a 2-year project for the Kate B. Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem, NC titled Learning and Growing Together: Core Knowledge and Learning Community for Multi-Disciplinary Professionals Serving Young Children and Their Families.
• Led instructional design team in developing online learning content in both asynchronous and synchronous formats.
• Conducted needs assessment to identify critical training topics.
• Developed 10 new products over 12 months.
• Increased eLearning sales by 200% in first year.
• Led the implementation of the organization’s first learning management system with integrated trainer certification application processing.
• Took action to ensure trainer certification system operated flawlessly within the LMS.
• Designed the launch of the LMS to national audience.
• Integrated nearly 4K learners into the system.
• Create and oversee the development of engaging training materials, workshops, and learning modules tailored to various employee levels and departments. Integrated Diversity-Informed Tenets and anti-racist pedagogy into all aspects of programming, fostering a more inclusive and equitable learning environment.
• Created a first-of-its-kind training curriculum to integrate racial trauma into emergency preparedness for early childhood educators, enhancing their ability to provide healing-centered practices.
• Implement metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of professional development programs, collecting feedback to continually improve offerings.
• Facilitated distance training through webinars and online learning on various topics related early childhood development, brain development, culture, language, and literacy; promoted child well-being, and preventing child abuse and neglect.

• Areas of national expertise include diversity-informed practice (Irving B. Harris Diversity Informed Tenets), working with diverse populations, reflective practice and reflective supervision, family child care, and state registry requirements for early educators and trainers nationwide. Topics within early childhood development include trauma-informed care, brain development, temperament, challenging behaviors, culture and family, child maltreatment prevention, children’s mental health, language and literacy, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
• Expert writer who has developed a range of published resources on topics ranging from child development to trauma.
• Provided expertise in developing the ZERO TO THREE Critical Competencies for Infant-Toddler Educators training of trainers and online learning.
• Contributed to developing and designing the delivery of the national Training-of-Trainers for ZERO TO THREE’s The Growing Brain curriculum.
• Present keynotes and professional development workshops at more than 200 education agencies nationwide; consulted with clients on agency needs in order to meet event objectives.

• Lead a multi-disciplinary team in diverse roles to support all aspects of creating learning content, designing training programs, and developing initiatives that improve outcomes for young children and their families nationwide.
• Oversee the development and delivery of high-quality professional development (PD) and publishing to a national audience. PD includes both in-person and distal modalities (synchronous online delivery, webinars, and asynchronous elearning).
• Oversee all aspects of the publishing process, from concept development to final production, ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget.
• Ensure all publishing activities comply with copyright laws, licensing agreements, and industry regulations
• Led the integration of Redleaf Press acquisitions into workforce development innovations, enhancing anti-racist content and increasing the number of authors of color by 45%.
• Partner with business units to develop, implement, measure, and improve standardized training curricula through competency modeling, skills/performance assessments, and gap analysis through an equity lens.
• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including authors, agents, and industry partners. Promote professional development opportunities for the workforce, encouraging participation and engagement from internal and external audiences.

• Leverage strategic non-profit leadership and industry expertise to structure long-term approaches that shape the overall design of professional development, and publishing, working diligently to maximize resources while administering all operations.
• Construct strategies for proactive and responsive support, providing analysis and guidance to advance program objectives; work with the finance team to define internal systems and oversee operational budgets ($3M+).
• Develop and execute the overall professional development and publishing strategy to align with the organization’s goals and target audience.
• Conduct market research to identify trends, opportunities, and potential risks, adjusting publishing strategies accordingly. Increased sales revenue by 14% in two years despite a 20% reduction in merchandise.
• Work closely with the sales and marketing teams to develop promotional strategies and expand market reach.