| Growing Up
Nicole was born in Fargo and raised in Minnesota. Her family moved to Woodbury in 1986, where she attended Woodbury Elementary and eventually Woodbury High School. Even as a teenager, Nicole was involved in the community and working to improve the world around her. Among other activities, she volunteered at United Hospital in St. Paul, was Editor-in-Chief of her High School newspaper, and was a delegate to Minnesota Girls State. Shortly after graduation, she was selected as a Woodbury Days Princess (she was sponsored by the Woodbury Fire Department, where her step-father served as a volunteer firefighter for 20 years), and spent a year representing the community in events around the Twin Cities.
She also grew up with a love of the outdoors, often accompanying her father fishing and her stepfather hiking and camping in various beautiful Minnesota locations. Even after camping and hiking various locations around the world as an adult, the Boundary Waters and North Shore are still favorite locations of hers to hike or camp.
Military*
Nicole began her career in meteorology right out of High School, when she joined the Air National Guard and was trained by the military first as a Weather Observer, then as a Weather Forecaster.
Her work with the military has given her the opportunity to forecast weather both around the country and around the world. She has worked as a military forecaster in Europe in support of military operations in both Kosovo and Bosnia, and even worked in Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
In 2003, Nicole transferred from the National Guard into the Air Force Reserves, where she worked as a Weather Officer for the Hurricane Hunters, a unit which performs reconnaissance missions into tropical weather to gather data which aids in the forecasting of tropical storms and hurricanes, until 2019. Storms she has flown into include hurricanes Charley, Katrina, Wilma, and Harvey. She also helped develop and teach a Diversity and Inclusion program for the Reserves during that time, wanting to ensure all members of the military are treated with respect. In 2019, Nicole returned to the National Guard and was selected as Commander of the 126th Weather Flight. She currently holds the rank of Lt. Col.
As both a well-respected communicator, military member, and scientist, Nicole is often personally requested for speaking events and engagement in the military community. In addition to numerous speeches on hurricanes and weather awareness, other honors include being the emcee for the Reserve Officer Association's 90th Anniversary Gala, and being invited to speak at the National Science Foundation in Washington D.C.
Civilian Career and Community Involvement
While working through the training to obtain her degree in weather from the Air Force, Nicole was also getting her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota in Speech-Communications. She started her broadcast career at a TV station in Duluth, MN, where she worked as an Assignment Manager, but also reported, produced, and began doing TV weather. She then worked as a TV Meteorologist in Rapid City, SD, South Bend, IN, Tulsa, OK, The Weather Channel (also providing hurricane expertise), Al Jazeera America (also covering climate and environmental issues) and CBS.
During her time at Weather Channel (in Atlanta), Nicole also went back to school and received a Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University. While working on that degree, Nicole spent a legislative session working for the Senate Democratic Caucus, helping to summarize and write legislation for State Senators. She also spent a summer working at an Environmental Law Clinic, helping with cases to protect the environment.
Nicole moved back home to Minnesota in 2016 to start her family, working as both a meteorologist for KSTP-TV (channel 5) and Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), prior to announcing her run for Senate.
In her free time, Nicole has always believed strongly in a commitment to community service and volunteerism. The outreach she has done has included previously volunteering at a shelter for abused women, with children at a homeless shelter, as a Big Sister for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children. She loves working with children, and especially enjoys getting students excited about math and science, (STEM), visiting with countless school groups over the years. She is a member of the Minnesota Bar, and up until the start of the pandemic she used her legal skills volunteering for "Wills for Heroes" which provides free wills and healthcare directives for first responders Most recently (since the start of the COVID pandemic), she has been volunteering with the Christian Cupboard Emergency Food Shelf (CCEFS) in Oakdale, which provides food and other resources to members of the community in need of assistance.
Personal
Always having a strong sense of adventure, Nicole loves to travel, and has tried everything from kayaking and white water rafting to sky diving. She has ventured to every continent (yes, even Antarctica!), and has even climbed Africa's highest mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro. Her biggest adventure (and greatest joy) of all has been her family. After losing her first pregnancy at 18 weeks, Nicole joyfully welcomed her son Sam in 2016. She also obtained her foster care license in 2018, and has served 6 children since then through respite and full-time care, 3 of whom have had special needs.
As of January, 2022, in addition to Sam, who is now 5, she currently cares for another sweet 5 year-old and an adorable baby full-time. |