Hi, I’m Nicole! I’m a lifelong Thurston County resident, social worker, community advocate, and proud mother of three adult children: Marcus, Josiah, and Jada.

For more than 30 years, I have built my career around public service—helping people navigate complicated systems, developing and improving programs, supporting and training staff, shaping policy, and bringing people together to solve difficult problems.

I have worked in child welfare, juvenile justice, tribal child welfare, county government, organizational development, and community engagement. Throughout that career, one thing has remained constant:

Government works best when it remembers who it is there to serve.

That belief is at the heart of why I’m running for Thurston County Clerk.

30 Years of Public Service and Leadership

My career began with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services in 1995. Since then, I have served in roles ranging from direct service to program leadership, policy development, training, consultation, and organizational change.

My professional experience includes:

• Racial Equity Program Manager, Thurston County Board of County Commissioners — helping lead countywide organizational work and developing Thurston County’s Diverse Business Inclusion Plan.

• Clinical Consultant and Trainer, Juvenile Rehabilitation — providing consultation, training, staff support, and guidance in complex juvenile justice environments.

• Indian Child Welfare Program Consultant — providing policy and practice expertise involving the Indian Child Welfare Act and working with tribal partners and public systems.

• Family to Family Program Coordinator — coordinating programs and community partnerships within Washington’s child welfare system.

• Social Worker III, Children’s Administration — working directly with children and families navigating some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.

• Adjudicator III and Disabled Child Specialist, DSHS — helping families navigate government systems and determine eligibility for critical services.

• Independent consultant, trainer, facilitator, and organizational adviser — working with public agencies, tribal organizations, community partners, and others to improve policies, practices, programs, and services.

Over the course of that work, I have supervised field staff, program staff, and consultants; developed policies and practice guides; created new programs; trained employees; facilitated conflict resolution; supported organizational change; and worked across agencies and communities to find common solutions to difficult problems.

Leadership Is More Than Knowing a Process

The County Clerk is an elected executive.

The job is not simply to understand how documents are filed or how an existing process works. The Clerk is responsible for leading an organization: supporting employees, setting expectations, managing change, making difficult decisions, working with partners, improving systems, and ensuring the public can depend on the services the office provides.

Those responsibilities require leadership experience.

Throughout my career, I have worked in large, complex public systems where decisions have real consequences for employees and the people they serve. I know what it means to lead through change. I know the importance of listening before making decisions. I know how to bring people with different perspectives together around a common goal.

And I know that good leadership requires both accountability and compassion.

That is the experience I will bring to the Clerk’s Office.

Experience With People in Crisis

Long before I decided to run for Clerk, my work brought me alongside people experiencing some of the hardest moments of their lives.

I have worked with children and families involved in the child welfare system, young people in juvenile justice, tribal families navigating complicated legal and government systems, and people trying to access services they desperately needed.

That experience matters.

People often interact with the Clerk’s Office because something significant is happening in their lives. They may be seeking a protection order, going through a divorce or custody dispute, responding to a court action, or trying to understand a legal process they have never encountered before.

They deserve an office that is accessible, responsive, respectful, and prepared to help them navigate that process.

Education, Training and Professional Recognition

I earned both my Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology and my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Saint Martin’s University.

I am also a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE®) through the Society for Diversity and Institute for Diversity Certification.

My professional recognition includes:

• Thurston Community Network Social Worker of the Year, 2007

• DSHS Partnership Award, 2005

• Children’s Administration Outstanding Team Award, 2002

Rooted in Thurston County

Public service for me has never stopped when the workday ends.

I have served on the Thurston County League of Women Voters Board of Directors, including chairing its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Committee. I have served for years on the Olympia Family Theater Board of Directors, including as Board Co-Chair, and previously served on the NOVA Independent Middle School Board of Trustees.

These relationships and experiences were not built during a campaign. They were built over decades of showing up, listening, working alongside people, and investing in the community I call home.

Why I’m Running

I believe Thurston County deserves a Clerk’s Office that is open, dependable, well-managed, and centered on the people it serves.

I also believe the employees of the Clerk’s Office deserve experienced leadership that listens to them, supports them, communicates clearly, and helps build an organization where people can succeed.

I will bring more than 30 years of public service, leadership, program development, policy work, training, collaboration, and experience navigating complex government systems to this office.

I’m ready to listen.

I’m ready to lead.

And I’m ready to build a Clerk’s Office our employees and our community can count on.