‘Equity work requires so much self-reflection’: Meet the Women of the Year Nebraska honoree

Nicky Clark is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. The program launched in 2022 as a continuation of Women of the Century, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Meet this year’s honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.

When Nicky Clark was a little girl, she once complained to her Grandma Shirley about another child being mean to her. She was looking for empathy. But Grandma Shirley, in all her wisdom, told her granddaughter something that’s stuck with Clark for nearly 30 years: “You never know what someone else has been through and how that’s shaped their interactions with the world.”

Now 38 and the executive director of Elevate Omaha, a nonprofit focused on shifting power to young people and helping them become better leaders and advocates, Clark often reflects on Grandma Shirley’s words.

“Her telling me that really helped reframe everything,” Clark told USA TODAY. And it sparked in Clark a deep desire to understand where everyone was coming from.

Later, that grew into a passion for advocacy. A longtime social worker, Clark’s had a front-row seat to the foundational inequity throughout America – and she’s committed to building a better system by empowering young leaders, convinced that “young people have the answers, they have the solutions. It’s just that they often aren’t valued in the same way.”

For her dedication to consistently elevating young voices, Clark has been selected as the Nebraska honoree for USA TODAY’s Women of the Year.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

Who paved the way for you?

I had a supervisor when I first got into social work, Joanna Lindberg, who brought me along to everything. She involved me when we did the budgets. When we were meeting with people who entry-level people like me wouldn’t usually meet with, she invited me in. That helped me quickly gain skills and see how systems were working.

That was huge for me. People listened to my ideas because of her. I always credit her for sharing power. I think very few people understand how important that is – and I try to do that now for the young people I work with.

Do you have a proudest moment?

Graduating from college with my undergraduate degree in psychology and Spanish from University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2008. I was one of the first people in my family to do that.