Nikia is President of Dower and Associates, Inc., a small private speech/language and ABA practice in Loudoun County and Manassas City. She graduated from James Madison University with a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in 1986. She became Virginia licensed speech/language pathologist in 1986, and in 1988, she received her certification from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (ASHA) certification. In June of 2005, she became the first speech/language pathologist in Virginia to receive certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and has been licensed by the Virginia Board of Medicine since state licensure was first available in 2012.

Nikia specializes in the treatment of children and adolescents with language learning disabilities, speech/language delays/disorders and those with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. She has consulted with families, school systems, private schools and agencies and provided Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) training across the Commonwealth of Virginia.