BALTIMORE, MD - Johns Hopkins University Director of Athletics and Recreation Jennifer S. Baker announced the promotion of Nikki Betz to Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Leadership & Development. Betz came to Johns Hopkins in November 2021 as the Special Assistant to the Athletic Director.
 
"We are thrilled to have Nikki join our team in a full-time capacity," said Baker. "I am excited for our student-athletes to work closely with her, and to learn from the diversity and depth of her professional, academic, and athletic experiences.  Her energy is unrivaled, and the passion she has already shown for Blue Jay Athletics is remarkable."
 
In her new role, Betz will create, direct and lead all student-athlete development initiatives and oversee the student-athlete development team. She will also manage all student-athlete programming and serve as the administrative liaison to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as well as director of Blue Jays LEAD. Betz will serve as the department's Senior Woman Administrator (SWA) and will lead the effort to leverage athletics to build community both on campus and in the local Baltimore area. In addition, she will be a member of the game operations staff and will assume Sport Administrator responsibilities.
 
"I am very honored for the opportunity to take the helm of the student-athlete leadership program and to step into the SWA role," Betz said. "I'm grateful to get to work directly with our exceptional student-athletes who have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to being dedicated competitors in their respective fields of play, top-tier students in the classroom, and difference-makers in the community. This role stands at the intersection of my life-long passion of service and empowering the next generation, along with my passion for athletics and the life lessons that can be taught through them. I'm looking forward to engaging across the Johns Hopkins community and making an impact with our student-athletes!"
 
 
Betz is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and recently earned her MBA from Johns Hopkins' Carey Business School. As the Special Assistant to the AD, she assisted with varsity program administration, department and team budgeting, NCAA compliance, student-athlete development curriculum and programming and alumni engagement and fundraising. She also gained insight into additional areas essential to the operation of a successful athletic program, including game operations, academic support, sport performance and athletic communications and played a key role in Johns Hopkins' highly-successful hosting of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championships.
 
After graduating from Navy, Betz served her country in the military and later in the national security sector of the federal government. She earned her Information Warfare Designation as an active-duty Navy Officer, where in her role as a Deputy Intelligence Officer and Production Manager of the Naval Special Warfare-SEALs (NSW) Mission Support Center, she led a large team of military and civilian analysts who provided 24/7 reach-back intelligence support to deployed global NSW units. She also served as the Aviation Intelligence Officer and Security Manager for Strike Fighter Squadron 105, which deployed on the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75).
 
After completing her tour of active duty, Betz trained and served as a federal agent. In her roles as an Investigator and Relief Supervisor, she managed and assisted with multiple top-tier, large-scale investigations of national security matters. She was also designated as a Principal Outreach Liaison and highly regarded Strategic Communicator selected to deliver national security briefings to senior leaders of Fortune 500 companies, institutions of higher education and professional organizations. Betz was awarded the U.S. Attorney General's Award for Excellence in Investigation, Director's Award for Excellence in Investigation, Department Merit Award, and was selected for the "Women in Leadership" panel.
 
Betz's love for athletics stems from a life-long association with basketball as both a player and coach and her time as a track student-athlete. At Navy, she was a two-sport athlete in basketball and track. As a member of the basketball team, she led the Midshipmen in scoring and rebounding as a senior, when she was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection and averaged 14.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in Patriot League games.  She was named the team MVP as a senior and landed a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll as a junior. Betz also competed in the hurdles as a member of the Navy Outdoor Track team as a freshman and sophomore.
 
Betz continued her basketball career after graduating from the Naval Academy as she played for the All-Navy team, which represented the naval forces in the All-Armed Forces Tournament. She also competed internationally with the US All-Armed Forces Military Women's Basketball team and was a member of the gold-medal-winning 2005 team that won the World Military Basketball Championship.