Her Story
About Alyssa
Alyssa Heagy is the Executive Director of NextPoint Home Development, a nonprofit housing organization serving Central Nebraska. In her role, she leads initiatives that span the full housing spectrum, including homebuyer education, owner-occupied home repairs, affordable rental housing, and rent-to-own programs. Her work focuses on expanding attainable housing opportunities across multiple counties while strengthening community stability and long-term development. She also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Platte River Strategies, where she supports organizations with strategic planning, branding, and leadership development.
With more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector, Alyssa has built a career centered on mission-driven leadership and community impact. She previously served as Executive Director of Grand Island Area Habitat for Humanity and as Director of Mission Development at Mid-Plains Center for Behavioral Healthcare Services. Earlier in her career, she spent over five years as Outreach Director for Every Woman Can, where she supported initiatives focused on women’s health access and advocacy. Across these roles, she has developed deep expertise in nonprofit management, community engagement, and program development.
Alyssa’s professional path is shaped by both academic preparation and lived experience. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government from Eastern Washington University and a Master’s degree in Legal Studies from Trinity Law School, graduating summa cum laude. Her passion for housing equity is rooted in her own childhood experience with housing insecurity and foreclosure, as well as her later journey through homebuyer education programs. These experiences continue to inform her leadership philosophy, which emphasizes empathy, collaboration, and creating sustainable pathways for families to achieve stable and attainable housing.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Alyssa
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to recognizing that if I'm not taking care of myself, if I'm not refilling my own bucket, I can't be who I need to show up to be, whether for my organization, my family, or my friends. It is 100% okay to take time for yourself. I've recently been embracing that it doesn't have to be perfect. You can just get it done because you need to be somewhere else. That was a challenge to learn, and it was a hard, hard-earned lesson. I've learned to find out what my body needs. With the summer sunshine, I just step outside for 10 minutes without my phone, standing on the side of the street in the sunshine, just being like a cat, soaking it up. That pause is what I need. I was taking my phone with me at first and responding to emails, text messages, and phone calls, but nope, you gotta leave it inside because nothing's gonna burn down in 10 minutes. For the work I do, I'm basically always on call because I have a board of directors who may reach out at all hours. Recognizing you don't have to answer it, you can take the time, that's what I would recommend. My family and I are big Uno players. Pretty much whenever a new version comes out, we're buying it and doing family game nights. I have teenagers, and pulling them away from their electronics for family Uno matches that go on for hours is important. It's competitive, but healthy competition, and my kids are very much into it and still wanting to participate.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I ever received is, you're in the room for a reason, and it is so important that you use that voice. You use your lived experience. Housing and my childhood was something that I did not freely share at first. I was like, no, I don't want them to know that I'm of the people we serve. But then you get into it, and you go, I need to share my lived experience. I'm looking around the room, and they need to hear it. They need to hear my voice. I had a mentor who said, you know what it's like, share that. You have a voice, use it. And I think that's the biggest advice. No matter what you're doing, if you had the privilege of being invited into the room, speak up. When they're trying to silence you, that's when you speak louder.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think the biggest advice is, you're in the room for a reason, and it is so important that you use that voice. You use your lived experience. You know, housing and my childhood was something that I did not freely share at first. I was like, no, I don't want them to know that I'm of the people we serve. But then you get into it, and you go, I need to share my lived experience. I'm looking around the room, and they need to hear it. They need to hear my voice. I had a mentor who said, you know what it's like, share that. You have a voice, use it. And I think that's the biggest advice. No matter what you're doing, if you had the privilege of being invited into the room, speak up. When they're trying to silence you, that's when you speak louder.
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