High School Influence...
When Nicole was a freshman in high school her father gave her the voting catalog that came in the mail. He told her that she needed to know for whom she would vote, her reasons why, and also how she would vote on the different bonds and issues coming up. She remembers looking at her father and informing him that she couldn't vote for several more years, but he insisted that she do the homework and be able to verbalize her positions to him before the election. This started her love affair with politics and her drive to help people stay informed. It also encouraged her to run for office in high school - but she lost each year.
Career Paths...
Nicole's career path was not a straight one, which is fairly common. She's worked for small accounting firms, computer companies, and even spent 10 years with Mary Kay Cosmetics. At one point she worked for Robert Half International and was a lead administrator overseeing the administrative staff in 7 offices in Maryland and Delaware. She left that position when she was selected for the police academy - her childhood dream. The law enforcement dream was short lived as she chose to be available for her son and his needs, but she still bleeds blue and was proud to follow in her father's and grandfather's steps. She still belongs to FOP Lodge #34 to show her support to her brothers and sisters.
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Upon leaving the department Nicole found a way to use her administrative, marketing, and branding experience from college and earlier career choices and created her own company specializing in serving the needs of sole-entrepreneurs and small businesses. Started in October of 2005 she came to serve companies with needs both virtually (a fairly new concept at that time) and in person throughout the Baltimore area. With the newly developed social media platforms - she helped businesses navigate the new marketing opportunities online and became one of the first social media marketers and managers in the area.
Back to Politics...
In 2011 a business colleague approached Nicole about working on political campaigns in Maryland. He wanted to introduce her to Senator Nancy Jacobs as she was contemplating a congressional run in 2012. It was a good match for Nicole's social media talent, her colleague's marketing and branding of Nancy, and politics. Immediately following the 2012 elections, Nicole started working in Legislative District 6 trying to brand and market the Republican candidates there - a district that had not elected a Republican in 77 years. 2014 was a huge success with the GOP sweeping District 6 - Senate, 3 Delegates, and even the County Council seat!
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Following the 2014 elections Nicole started consulting with Congressman Andy Harris and the MDGOP. She also worked for 9 months in Annapolis, in the Senate, to see how Annapolis worked and see the end result of winning state elections. She has continued to work with campaigns to the present day. She's been a social media director, campaign manager, or a campaign consultant on at least a dozen campaigns since 2011.
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In 2020 she found herself on the ballot for Congressional District 1, Alternate Delegate to the 2020 Republican National Convention. She was an official Trump designee. This in addition to running two 2020 campaigns - her husband's congressional reelection bid and a mayoral candidate race.
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In August 2020 she was asked to be an Elector to the Electoral College for Congressional District 1 - if Trump would win Maryland. That was an honor and a privilege to have been asked.
Personal Life...
Nicole has one son who is in college. She also became a step-mother to 5 with her marriage to Andy Harris in 2017, and Nonna to the 10 grandchildren. She's active in the 2A world, co-managing the Maryland Gun Owners group on Facebook and MeWe. The group has been in existence for 13 years and has over 6,000 members. She is also a member of many different women's groups in the 1st Congressional District and DC. If she's not working or campaigning she enjoys playing chess, drawing, and photography.
About Nicole
Early Beginnings...
Nicole grew up on the west coast spending time in California, Oregon, and Washington states. Her mother's family were farmers - almonds and eggs for the most part. As a young child Nicole learned how to collect eggs, candle them, and did other office work with her grandmother. She also sat out in the orchards watching the machinery working with the trees. Her father's family were in law enforcement which started her childhood dream of wanting to be a police officer.