Testimonials
Tax Attorney Nikki Johnson-Alfano is an inspirational speaker and an illuminating light in the darkness, that so many others have not been able to overcome. As a result of the many challenges that confronted her, she stood tall like Harriet Tubman and walked the path to freedom by obtaining an education. She did not allow the challenges which can overtake our lives and cause darkness, to prevent her from being an illuminating light to: the homeless population, single parent households, and to those living in poverty. Instead, she became that maritime light and used her beacon to develop the Donafy App for the homeless. She also has received numerous awards as recognition for all of her accomplishments. She also won 2 beauty contests and was crowned 2019-2020 Ms. Pennsylvania, and Ms. Universe 2021-2022 . She defined the challenges in her life and utilizes her strengths to assist nonprofits and others in need. Her life story is motivational, provocative, and vitalizing to not only the downtrodden but to anyone who hesitates or is skeptical in believing that they can overcome life’s obstacles.
Rev. Dr. Janis C. Brooks
CEO and Founder of Children and Adults Developmental Agency Programs (CADAprograms) formerly Citizens to Abolish Domestic Apartheid
“Ms. Nikki Johnson-Huston recently shared with HEP [Homeless Empowerment Program] supporters her deeply personal story of struggle, failure, realization, and hard-earned success. As the founder of an organization that provides secure housing and supportive services for children and families, I know programs like HEP can work. Nikki is a testament to that fact. With help from the community and her loving grandmother, she overcame all odds in her personal life, sought an advanced education, and has become a successful tax attorney. More importantly, Ms. Johnson-Huston has not forgotten where she came from. She continues to give back to society, through creating cell phone applications that help people in need as well as advocating that donating to organizations like HEP is a public investment. Ms. Johnson-Huston has accomplish a great deal in her short life; with her passion and stamina, I expect she will achieve much more.” - Barb Green, HEP Founder
Finally, everyone (HEP staff, Board Members, guests) was truly inspired by hearing Nikki’s story. She was heartfelt, and yet at the right moment, injected some levity into what is otherwise heavy subject matter. We really appreciate her flying all the way down here, especially in the middle of busy tax season. We could not have found a better testimonial for that evening and are honored that Nikki agreed to be our keynote speaker.
Thank you so much for your amazing work with our youth hosting a roundtable to talk about your experiences! By sharing with them the challenges of your childhood and how you turned experiences into building blocks to success, you made an amazing impression on our youth! Your focus on individual self worth, strong values, and learning to accept the help we all need at times reinforced in a very real way the messages we underscore at Hopeworks. We are so grateful for the support of people like you who help Hopeworks Youth achieve their D.R.E.A.M.S
Dan Rhoton
Chief Impact Director, Hopeworks N Camden
Who would have known that one person’s story could have so much impact. We are truly appreciative of Nikki Johnson-Huston's support of Belmont Charter School and our students. Nikki’s participation in our career week event left our students with a new appreciation for hard work despite the many obstacles that they currently face or may face in the future. Being that some of our students currently find themselves living in poverty and a few homeless themselves, they were able to relate first hand to some of the challenges that Nikki faced. They were motivated and inspired by her story and believe that if they work hard they can also rise above their circumstances to achieve their dreams. It is because of your support we have many students inspiring to be lawyers too! Thanks again for your support!
Malaun Yuille- Belmont Charter School Academic Counselor
The Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness invited Nikki Johnson-Huston to keynote our biennial conference, Beyond Housing, held in January 2014. Ms. Johnson-Huston graciously accepted our invitation to come and talk about her experiences of growing up in poverty as well as the hardships, failures, and successes that she has known. Just speaking with her during the planning stages revealed to us the depth of her sincerity and of her knowledge of child and family homelessness and poverty. Beyond simply having an inspiring story, Ms. Johnson-Huston has an ability to tie her past experiences to current trends, policies, and issues taking center stage. She is well informed on different initiatives, laws, and conversations surrounding the topic, and continues to learn so as to be a better advocate.
Ms. Johnson-Huston is humble, warm, relatable, open, generous, and extremely inspiring. Her message of never giving up on your dreams or on yourself resonated strongly with our audience members. There were hardly any dry eyes in the audience during her keynote, and we were all impressed with her spirit, motivation, and drive to help others by sharing her story. Her confidence is contagious and her work is admirable. Our conference would not have been the same without her presence.
Dona Anderson, Director, Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness
Nikki Johnson-Huston shares a compelling personal story of trials and triumph that showcases the best of the human spirit. She used a mixture of warmth and comedy to demonstrate what we are all capable of achieving with love, support and determination. Nikki uses her personal testimony to encourage us all to meet life's challenges with dignity and grace. It was evident to me that Nikki's story is powerful because there were elders in the audience who stated they were inspired by her story. I had several members of the campus and larger community tell me how much they appreciated Nikki's story and the need for her to share that story with others, especially the youth. To me, the best part of working with Nikki is seeing first hand that she not only talks about be a positive change agent in the community, but she "practices what she preach." Nikki's passion, strength and spirit is indomitable and contagious!
Testimonials from Heart to Heart Event attendees- Mallory Hanfling, Ester and Sue
We had the privilege of hearing Nikki Johnson-Huston speak at the Klein JCC last week. Nikki’s story was awe-inspiring. She has experienced so much pain and adversity, and yet she never gave up despite life’s inevitable hardships. Her story teaches the listeners how to find their inner-strength and stay grateful, optimistic, and positive throughout the journey. I look forward to the next time we get to hear Nikki Johnson-Huston speak, and cannot thank her enough for her time and candor. Here are a few testimonials from attendees of last week’s event:
“Listening to Nikki Johnson-Huston was refreshing, she not only talked about her hardship, but also her successes, and the lessons she learned and how they could be translated into anyone’s life. I would recommend anyone from any walk of life to hear her experiences.” -Esther
“Nikki Johnson-Huston's story was astounding, sad, and in the end completely inspiring. I found myself retelling her story to my family, who listened as raptly as I did. Thank you for the opportunity to meet such a remarkable woman.” - Sue
