01 Sep Niki Ann Miller
Strength, Activism, & Fight for Justice
A dear friend and mentor of those recovering and of our founder, Jackie Sue Griffin, Ms. Niki Ann Miller, 65 passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 28, 2022. According to her obituary, Niki will be remembered as a brilliant writer, a punk rock priestess, a devoted friend, a loving mother, and a tireless advocate for public health.
Niki was the youngest of three, after her sister, Maria and brother, Steven. She loved music to an inspiring degree. She was a fan of any genre with a statement of protest and rebellion: from Bob Dylan, The Clash, and David Bowie to Nirvana, John Lennon and Prince.
She lived in San Francisco during the counter-cultural movements of the late 1970s and 1980s. While there she managed an art gallery, worked affectionately on film-making, and assisted with life-saving services at centers that helped sufferers of the AIDs crisis. San Francisco is where she happily shared her 20s with her husband and the love of her life, Kevin. It is also there that her calling to fight for social justice awakened and flourished. Niki earned a bachelor’s in Fine Arts from Eckerd College and later a master’s from Springfield College in Health and Human Services. She used her gifts and talents to help countless women with recovery from eating disorders to addiction. Her determination moved barriers to treatment in the fields of trauma-informed and overdose prevention.
Niki was the founder and executive director of the New Hampshire Task Force on Women and Recovery. She was the recipient of the 2006 New Hampshire Woman of the Year Award, presented by Governor John Lynch, and the recipient of the 2007 Susan B. Anthony award presented by the YWCA. She was also a professor at Springfield College. In her time as Head of Women’s Services for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections she reformed the statewide response to the needs of female offenders, and more recently she was a thought leader and grant writer for programs addressing trauma, correctional reform, gender equity, and more.
Her prolific activism, extensive social work, and vigorous fight for justice leaves a resounding legacy that changed the lives of thousands of people in need and continues to affect change even after her passing. Niki’s generosity in her personal life was legendary, and the lives she touched will always hold treasured memories of her gracious selflessness. She believed in equality, intersectional equity, and human rights. She fought tirelessly for these values and was a modern revolutionary in every sense of the word.
Niki is survived by her daughter, Stephanie Miller, of Oakland, CA; brother, Steven Miller of Palm Beach Gardens, FL; sister, Maria McDaniel of Middlefield, OH; her two nephews, many cousins, her beloved goldendoodle, Gypsy, and cat, Bonecrusher. She is preceded in death by her parents, first husband, the love of her life, Kevin Bodenhammer, and dog, Sid Vicious.
Forever remembered.
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