A Conversation with Filmmaker Nik Heftman
Tuesday, 22 Apr 2025 at 7:15 pm – Sun Room, Memorial Union
Greenlee Visiting Professional Nik Heftman is the founder and CEO of The Seven Times, a full service video and event production company. The company was founded in 2022 with the goal of spotlighting Black entrepreneurs across the United States. That vision evolved into a weekly docuseries highlighting Black entrepreneurs, artists and other trailblazers who are making tangible, positive impacts in their communities. 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.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. 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.Greenlee Visiting Professional Nik Heftman is the founder and CEO of The Seven Times, a full service video and event production company. The company was founded in 2022 with the goal of spotlighting Black entrepreneurs across the United States. That vision evolved into a weekly docuseries highlighting Black entrepreneurs, artists and other trailblazers who are making tangible, positive impacts in their communities. 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.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. 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.
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