Nikki Holien
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Project Manager, Washington State Lottery
Project Manager Nikki Holien is the kind of lottery professional who makes Washington’s Lottery better every day. She is trusted with some of the Lottery’s most complex and high-impact projects because she brings steadiness, creativity, optimism, and follow-through to everything she does. Her work often touches the public directly, shaping how players and partners experience the Lottery and influencing how effectively the agency delivers on its mission.
Over the past year, Nikki has been instrumental in advancing several major initiatives that show both the breadth of her talent and the depth of her commitment to public service and the lottery industry. She has played a key role in planning the NASPL Professional Development Seminar, helping Washington’s Lottery prepare to host a national event with the level of professionalism, coordination, and care it deserves. She has helped manage the many moving pieces that come with an event of this scale while keeping the attendee experience at the center of the work.
Nikki also helped reinvigorate and introduce the Lottery’s St. Patrick’s Day Raffle, bringing fresh energy to a product that required thoughtful planning, internal coordination, and strong project discipline. She has also been deeply involved in implementing the Powerball NFL Xs&Os game. New game implementations require someone who can keep people moving, listen carefully, anticipate obstacles, and make sure the right conversations happen at the right time. Nikki does this consistently and with a positive attitude that makes people want to work with her.
In addition, she has continued to lead and adapt the virtual card prize payment project, a modernization effort with the potential to improve how prizes are paid to winners. This project has required flexibility, persistence, and the ability to pivot as circumstances change. Nikki has handled those changes with professionalism and maturity. She has also contributed to the Lottery’s work on the statewide One Washington project, a major enterprise effort affecting state financial systems and agency operations.
Beyond her formal project portfolio, Nikki leads the Lottery’s monthly all-staff meetings. These meetings help employees stay connected to agency priorities, leadership messages, and one another. She approaches that responsibility with care, helping create meetings that are organized, useful, and welcoming. She understands that good internal communication is part of a healthy workplace culture.
What makes Nikki especially deserving of this recognition is not only the volume or visibility of her work, but the way she does it. She is consistently positive, thoughtful, and willing to help. She is the person people go to when something needs to be figured out, when a project needs structure, or when a team needs calm energy in a complicated situation. She is forward thinking, organized, kind, and she is always willing to take on the hard stuff.
Nikki’s contributions also extend beyond her professional role. After giving so much of herself at work, she still finds the energy to coach volleyball. That says something meaningful about who she is. She invests in people. She builds confidence. She helps others grow. The same qualities that make her an effective coach also make her an exceptional project manager: patience, encouragement, accountability, and belief in the people around her.
The Powers Award recognizes individuals whose work reflects excellence in the lottery industry. Nikki Holien lives that standard. She strengthens Washington’s Lottery through her project leadership, her service mindset, and her ability to help people move through complex work with clarity and confidence. She has made a lasting impact on the Lottery’s agency, its employees, its players, and its ability to serve the people of Washington.
