Nikia Smith Robert serves as AAR’s Treasurer.
Dr. Robert is an Assistant Professor of Religious Ethics and Social Justice at the University of Kansas. She earned academic degrees in Information Systems and Finance, a Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Philosophy in Religion with a focus on ethics and public policy. Dr. Robert worked for ten-years on Wall Street in Public Accounting and Investment Banking as an Associate, Senior Associate, and Franchise Controller. She managed multimillion dollar budgets and served clients in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. Dr. Robert has contributed to the religious guild by serving on the Society of Christian Ethics Board of Directors and the Finance and Long-Term Planning committee. Dr. Robert is the Founder and Executive Director of Abolitionist Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization. In this role, she raises funds and manages a growing budget that has increased in value by approximately 400 percent in the current fiscal year. As an abolitionist with a finance background, she is passionate about mutual aid strategies and communal approaches to build morally just and sustaining economies. Dr. Robert has several publications, including, “Penitence, Plantation, and the Penitentiary: A Liberation Theology for Lockdown America” (Harvard Graduate Journal, 2017) and “Leading Beyond the Criminal Line”(Westminster Knox, 2022).