Hi, It’s me Nikki

People don’t always remember my name, but I often get, “You’re the happy person.” or “you do the happy thing.”

And honestly? I’ll take it.

But let’s be clear: I’m not happy all the time, and I don’t teach people to be happy all the time either. Happiness is not a permanent mood, a personality trait, or a shiny little badge we earn when life finally gets easy. Like everyone, my happiness lives on a continuum. I have messy days, hard seasons, big feelings, and moments where I need the very tools I teach.

That’s exactly why this work matters to me.

After more than 20 years leading people, teams, operations, and culture in the fast-paced world of advertising, I reached a turning point. In 2018, I quietly tiptoed out of my corporate career — okay, truthfully, I ran out cheering — and began exploring what helps people feel more connected, purposeful, resilient, engaged, and alive and how I could make that reality for people.

I had seen firsthand that well-being was often treated like an extra: a perk, or something people were expected to figure out on their own after hours. But real happiness and human flourishing go much deeper. They are shaped by meaning, vitality, curiosity, connection, emotional resilience, and the cultures and communities we create for one another.

Ever the lifelong learner — and proudly self-proclaimed research nerd — I dove headfirst into the science of happiness. I went on to earn my Master’s in Happiness Studies as part of the inaugural cohort led by Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar. I’m also an ICF-credentialed coach, with certifications in Positive Psychology, Chief Happiness Officer training, Laughter Yoga Leadership, Mindfulness and Meditation, and Organizational Happiness Training.

Today, as a Human Flourishing Consultant, and Chief Happiness Officer, I help people, teams, and communities make happiness practical, proactive, and deeply human.

My work is rooted in SPIRE, a wholebeing framework that explores the interconnected parts of who we are: spiritual, physical, intellectual, relational, and emotional. Because we are not one-dimensional beings, and our happiness isn’t either.

I’m also the co-founder of Mingle & Marvel, Canada’s first Happiness Centre, where our 12-week Living Happy Inside Out Program delves deep into SPIRE and guides individuals in cultivating wholebeing happiness everyday.

My own character strengths — humour, love of learning, hope, appreciation of beauty and excellence, kindness, and curiosity — show up in everything I do. I bring science, strategy, heart, and a healthy dose of playfulness to my work, helping people explore happiness in a way that feels human, grounded, and possible.

Having navigated the wild jungles of corporate life, personal reinvention, and the beautifully messy business of being human, I know this for sure: well-being and performance are not opposites. Joy and struggle can sit at the same table. And happiness is not something we finally get when life is perfect.

It is something we practice, together, in the middle of real life.