she glows

By Mary Jane Bogle | Photo by Leaha Meinika

Advocating for marginalized populations is a top priority for Nikki Quintana, Executive Director of Fort Wayne Metropolitan Human Relations Commission (Fort Wayne Metro). It’s a trait that was instilled in her from an early age. “My parents really emphasized the value of giving back to my community,” she said.

In fact, it was Quintana’s mother who inspired her to pursue a career in law in the first place. “My mom was into Matlock and other legal shows,” she said. “Watching those shows with her sparked my interest in becoming a lawyer someone fighting for justice.”

That passion for justice, combined with her father’s insistence on hard work, lead to a groundbreaking degree and career. “My dad always understood the reality of me being a Mexican American female and made me aware that I would have to work hard,” she recalled.

Thanks to her parents’ support, Quintana became a first-generation college graduate. “For me,” she said, “it was about how I was going to achieve my dreams … not letting the skeptical voices prevail.”

And while Quintana managed to navigate those challenges, she wants to make the path a little easier for those coming behind her. “I’m passionate about creating pipelines for the next generation,” she said, “specifically Latina women.”

According to Quintana, roughly 1.3% of lawyers nationwide are Latina. “A big thing for me was making sure I got over the idea of letting people put me in a box,” she said. “Finding a role model of a Latina doing law even nationwide is rare.” Changing that lack of representation is important to her. “Representation affects what people think they can do. The more they see it, the more they realize it’s something they can do,” she said.

That’s why Quintana is passionate about serving on the scholarship committee with the Allen County Bar Foundation, where she helped propose the idea of providing a scholarship for racial and ethnic minorities. And so, the Allen County Bar Foundation Legal Opportunity Scholarship was born. The scholarship is designed to help students continue law school or prepare to join the legal profession.

Quintana is also an advocate for change at Fort Wayne Metro, where she works to educate the community about unfair treatment in housing, employment, public accommodation, and education. “We work to enforce both federal and local civil rights laws,” she said, “but we also strive to educate the community through outreach efforts.”

Some of those efforts include hosting the Fair Housing Summit, an event that has grown from a small gathering to a venue for 300 people or more. “This tells us people in our community want to learn more about emerging trends in the realm of fair housing,” she said. Her advocacy also resulted in the publication of Fort Wayne Metro’s Equity for All Study.

At the end of the day, Quintana’s motivation for advocacy begins and ends at home. “My husband Josh and I want to make sure that our children, Jocelyn and Joshua, have opportunities to pursue their hopes and dreams,” she said. a