McDaniel College, 2002
• 1984 Softball First Team Academic All-America®
• 1985 Softball First Team Academic All-America®
• 1985 Volleyball First Team Academic All-America®
• 1986 Softball Second Team Academic All-America®
Nicki Pesik graduated summa cum laude from McDaniel (previously Western Maryland College until 2002) with a degree in biology, where she was a Phi Beta Kappa. As a volleyball player, Pesik was a two-time first-team All-Middle Atlantic hitter in 1984 and 1985 with a career .244 hitting percentage and 202 career blocks. She led the Green Terror to a 155-27-1 record and four NCAA tournament appearances. As an outfielder in softball, Pesik was a three-time all-conference selection and a career .474 hitter, still tops in program history. She had a .548 career on-base percentage and was 15 for 15 in stolen-base attempts. Her .737 career slugging percentage ranks third all-time.
Pesik earned magna cum laude honors from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed her residency at the University of Cincinnati Department of Emergency Medicine as an aeromedical flight physician.
She is currently an associate director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where she oversees domestic preparedness and global health. Pesik works with other countries to improve their capacity to prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, supervising and mentoring public health advisors, budget analysts, medical and veterinary officers. She helped keep the nation safe during Africa’s Ebola outbreak and worked as the senior CDC official for Zika virus response in Atlanta and Puerto Rico.
Pesik has published numerous articles, book chapters and abstracts, and has been recognized multiple times by the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration for excellence in leadership. In 2006, she received the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service for her leadership during the response to Hurricane Katrina.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame Class of 2021 was honored during the 2021 CoSIDA Virtual Convention following the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Gallery: (3-29-2021) Nicki Pesick, 2021 AAA Hall of Fame
Updated June 10, 2021