Nicole was born in Northwestern Georgia and grew up surrounded by animals. She spent her undergrad years at Auburn University in Alabama taking every biological and animal related course available, participating in population counts and deer shed hunts, and teaching about animal adaptations at children’s camps. Nicole worked at several zoos, the International Wolf Center and also volunteered at the Southeastern Raptor Rehabilitation Center for three years. After Auburn, Nicole moved to Hokkaido, Japan to teach and learn about their amazing local wildlife.

After Japan, Nicole moved to New Zealand to continue her wildlife studies. Nicole co-coordinated the campaign to remove the last of the anti-shark nets from the beach of New Zealand and co-created a film about the history and removal of the nets.

Next, Nicole found herself in Saipan, CNMI assisting local governmental agencies running campaigns to protect coral reefs and conservation lands. She also worked to create science curriculums in schools and collected research data for NOAA. She spent her final year in Saipan working with the National Park Service bringing attention to the war dogs of World War II and studying the local boonie dogs, which resulted in her assistance with passing Saipan’s first animal welfare bill.

This work with the local jungle dog brought her back into the world of animal sheltering, and she took a two-year position with the San Francisco SPCA to help their sister shelter, the Stockton Animal Shelter (11, 000 annual animal intake). She then moved to Shreveport, LA to manage Caddo Parish-Animal Services and Mosquito Control (6,000 annual animal intake).

“I really appreciate the science behind practices, processes, and protocols. I think that is a good place to start as well as hearing from shelters who share their successes and lessons learned. That information can be brought back to your shelter and adapted to your shelter and community’s needs. I really like holding brainstorming sessions and having the staff share their ideas and thoughts. Staff buy-in is the first step to the success of implementation. I believe shelters are there to serve their community while also educating and assisting their community members. It should be free of judgment and focus on support. It is not about hurdles, it is about help.”

Credentials:

Bachelor of Science for Zoology: Conservation and Biodiversity from Auburn University, AL

Bachelor of Science for Wildlife Science (minor in Animal Science) from Auburn University, AL

Master of Science for Science Communication with a focus in Natural History Filmmaking from the University of Otago in New Zealand

Master of Science for International Animal Welfare, Ethics, and Law from the University of Edinburgh (Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies) in Scotland