"My body is my compass. Joy is my medicine."
Nicole Smith Cook — Founder | Systems Architect
Nicole Smith Cook spent 25 years at Ford Motor Company — as a program engineer, lead planner, data scientist, and ultimately as a Customer Insights Manager working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and human experience. She holds graduate degrees in Counseling Psychology, Manufacturing Engineering, and Manufacturing Management, and carries a Six Sigma Black Belt earned through decades of solving problems that most people considered unsolvable.
She is also a woman living with chronic illness — navigating the road with her dog Daisy, her camera, and a deeply practical understanding that the body sets the pace. That reality doesn't slow her down. It shapes everything she builds.
Nicole is an incoming Ambassador for Mid-Michigan Honor Flight — the program that brings veterans to Washington D.C. to be honored at the memorials built in their name. She also served as a Tribute Rosie the Riveter through Willow Run Airport and the Yankee Air Museum — standing in living history as a symbol of the women who built America's arsenal of democracy from the factory floor up.
In January 2025, she retired from Ford and founded Beyond Riveting™. Not as a career pivot. As a culmination.
Why we exist
Beyond Riveting™ was founded on a simple belief: that the people who carry the hardest stories — veterans, caregivers, survivors, those navigating invisible illness and bold transitions — deserve more than acknowledgment. They deserve action.
Our nonprofit arm honors female military heroes — on the battlefield, in support roles, and on the home front. We provide emergency housing support, career and educational counseling, and immersive historical programs that bring their stories to life.
Our for-profit ventures fund the mission — and prove that healing, creativity, and purpose can exist inside the same life, even when that life includes chronic illness, neurodivergence, and the kind of reinvention that doesn't come with a roadmap.
What We're Building
Beyond Riveting™ is not one thing. It is a family of ventures built around a single axis: that bold, intentional living is possible — even from the hard days. Especially from the hard days.
Beyond Limits™ — Disability-forward travel experiences for those who refuse to stop moving.
Wren's Nest & Sanctuary™ — A healing retreat and animal sanctuary rooted in rest, nature, and belonging.
Lumen Sage™ — Herbal medicine research and the Riveting Remedies product line.
Riveting Memories™ — Documentary photography and a travel memory archive that tells the honest story of the road.
Rosie's Rescue / Mini-Farm — Animal rescue, homesteading education, and the creatures who make the mission possible.
Drive with Daisy — Road content featuring Daisy, the co-pilot who makes every mile better.
Our Privacy Promise
Privacy Policy
Effective Date: 07/07/2025
Beyond Riveting™, a nonprofit organization, values your privacy and is committed to transparency in how we handle your information across our websites, stores, and online services.
What We Collect
When you interact with our site or services, we may collect:
- Personal Information: name, email, phone number, mailing address (only if you choose to share it)
- Payment Information: securely processed by trusted third-party platforms (like PayPal, Stripe, or GoDaddy Payments); we do not store your full payment details
- Device & Usage Data: including browser type,