The 40s are the decade when many hit their professional stride – a time of transition and triumph, when youthful impulses and even career gambles can yield serious impact.
This year, City & State Pennsylvania‘s 40 in Their 40s features power players spanning not only the commonwealth, but also two distinct age cohorts: Gen X, roughly those 44 and up, and millennials, who – true to their generational might – constitute the majority here (and everywhere). But as this list reveals, Pennsylvania’s go-getter 40-somethings are true individuals.
This year’s honorees include a fire chief who crusades nationally for first responders, lobbyists making a difference for criminal justice and youth, and an ER physician bringing global insights to Jefferson Health. More than one person on this list saw something broken and vowed to fix it – a commitment to betterment inspiring to people of any age.
This excerpt is a feature on Dr. Nikia Owens, PhD, President and CEO of Campaign for Working Families.
Math was Nikia Owens’ ticket out of poverty. As CEO of the Campaign for Working Families, a nonprofit focused on financial well-being, Owens hopes that numbers will empower others to better their lives.
At CWF, where she has doubled the budget to $5.4 million in two years, Owens coordinates financial education, tech-free tax preparation and resource referrals for families throughout greater Philadelphia. Now Owens is steering CWF’s expansion into New York City’s five boroughs, having taken over the financial services arm of Food Bank for New York City.
The 48-year-old has been good with numbers since her troubled childhood in California’s agricultural heartland, where she bounced through a series of foster homes. “School was an outlet for me,“ recalls Owens, for whom studying was a refuge from abuse and the hard work of farm life.
Accelerated into advanced math, she finished high school early and earned two degrees from Howard, including a master’s of social work (she also holds a doctorate). After 10 years in clinical counseling, she found her niche on the financial side of nonprofits; Owens first connected with CWF as head of financial empowerment at the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, where she raised $20 million for nonprofits.
Now Owens empowers others to better their lives through math – including her two children, who both aced AP calculus. “I’ve been blessed,“ says Owens. “And I’ve been down a lot of roads. My purpose is service – to pass some of those blessings to others.“
Story courtesy of City & State PA
