Nik Heftman is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker
from Southern California. Heftman produced stories for CBS Mornings in New York City and Los Angeles for more than five years, helping the show earn an Emmy for Outstanding Live News Program. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications, with a designated area of concentration in international studies, from Iowa State University. He is currently on the advisory board of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication. In April 2024, he will serve as a professional in residence for the Greenlee School. During that service, he will teach several courses centered around uplifting underrepresented communities.

While at Iowa State, Heftman worked for several local newspapers. His reporting earned him a Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for outstanding breaking news reporting. He also received an award from the Iowa Associated Press for a feature he co-wrote on South Sudanese refugees living in rural Iowa. He later was nominated for an SPJ Mark of Excellence Award for feature writing.
Heftman’s dedication to reporting on diversity and inclusion issues earned him the honor of speaking at public forums about the topic, including the Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity (ISCORE) - a comprehensive forum on issues of race and ethnicity at Iowa State University and beyond.

Before graduating from Iowa State in 2017, Heftman hosted a blunt debate about the way journalists cover Muslims at home and abroad. The event was called Muslimedia. It was held at a local mosque in Ames, Iowa.

Heftman is also a speaker at the annual Okoboji Writer’s retreat and a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. He also volunteers for Young Storytellers, a nonprofit organization that empowers young people to use the art of storytelling to explore their identities, impact the people around them, and create a more just and equitable world.